The relationship between public trust and perceived value of Israel's coastal areas with infrastructure: What is next to a beach matters

The presence of infrastructure on and around the coastline affects the utility of visitors to the beach. The research examines this impact with the goals to: 1.) assist policy makers in determining the optimal level of coastline development; and 2.) determine the public's view of adequate compensation for the perceived utility loss from the presence of infrastructure. The model uses a discrete choice analysis of varying scenarios for beach conditions (e.g., water and sand quality, crowdedness of the beach) and presence of infrastructure, such as ports, hotels, and marinas. Willingness to pay to visit a beach in Israel with infrastructure facilities nearby was found to be 10 USD less than that of beaches in their natural state. Results reflect expected outcomes: the public prefers natural settings, followed by preference for hotels, marinas, and ports, respectively. Results showed that water quality has the highest impact on utility levels, in fact twice as impactful as sand quality, followed by the extent of beach crowdedness. Surprisingly, people are willing to pay higher prices for clean water when beaches are in proximity to ports and factories. Ports and factories were found to create a more significant degree of fear of harm to water quality in comparison to marinas, restaurants and hotels. The study demonstrates that public trust of environmental quality is monetarily measurable and has a noticeable effect on people's choices for beach selection.