Convergent validity between revealed and stated recreation demand data: Some empirical evidence from the Basque Country, Spain

In a travel cost exercise, reported past visits to mount Jaizkibel, a natural area located in the Basque Country (Spain), are compared for convergent validity to stated intended future trips under the assumption that the natural resource’s conditions will remain the same. In line with the results obtained by other studies, the empirical evidence of this application suggests that revealed preferences (RP) and stated preferences (SP) do not produce consistent data, i.e. do not achieve convergent validity. The paper deals with the convergent validity literature in continuous-choice studies by using two-staged count data models for recreation demand. Differences in preference structures and welfare estimates are tested assuming both common and different data generating processes for the RP and SP data.