Grandfather Mountain Jeb McRary Rachel Levy Kenneth Wehrmann Zach Caton Alexandra Greif

Purpose  The purpose of our study was to determine whether the visibility (or lack thereof) at Grandfather Mountain was a factor in how many people were to visit the mountain.  Pollution in recent years has remarkably decreased the visibility from observation points at Grandfather Mountain, but, seeing as the beautiful views are one of the main reasons for going at all, we wanted to see exactly how it would affect trafficking through the area.

Methods  In order to collect the information needed, we created a survey which was distributed to people at the Grandfather Mountain Visitor’s Center.  Some of the questions on the survey included: how many miles visitors traveled to hike the mountain; the importance of improving air quality; reasons for visiting Grandfather Mountain; whether or not improving air quality is necessary in improving visibility, etc.

 Our dependent variable was number of trips  Our independent variables were haziness and distance from Grandfather. Theory

Demand Curve

Data # of observations: 50 Mean:3.833 trips Min: 1 trip Max: 100 trips (lived very close) St. Dev: 14.78

Statistical Results  The results of the survey seemed to show that the perceived haziness, pollution, etc. was not a statistically significant factor in the number of trips taken to Grandfather Mountain.  However, people living in close proximity were more likely to visit the mountain, which did have an effect on our stats regarding the financial cost and time allotted in taking the trip. CoefficientsStandard Errort Stat Intercept Travel Cost Haziness of GF Close Proximity (60 miles)

Graphical Results

Consumer Surplus  Double-log model, since If b > -1: CS = [1/(b + 1)] x [max(P) x min(Q) – PQ]  CS x 250,000 visitors/year = annual benefit of GF CS=105.29*250000= $26,323,249 annual benefit of GFCS=105.29*250000= $26,323,249 annual benefit of GF

Conclusions Pollution not as big a factor as cost of travelPollution not as big a factor as cost of travel Consumers make their decisions on visiting based on financial reasonsConsumers make their decisions on visiting based on financial reasons