Market and non-market valued decisions are associated with New Zealand's system of national parks. The use benefits of Mount Cook National Park are not priced by the market mechanism, whereas many of the inputs necessary to operate and maintain the Park are priced. Estimates of the economic benefits are relevant information when deciding upon the allocation of resources to, and within, a system of national parks.
In 1984, the consumers' surplus for adult New Zealand visitors was about 2.2million.Anestimateofthenetnationalbenefitsisgivenbytheconsumers′surplusobtainedbyNewZealandvisitors,plusthenetbenefitsassociatedwithforeignvisitors,lessthecostofParkmanagementandlandrental.ThenetbenefitofMountCookNationalPark,asitwasin1984,islikelytobepositive,indicatingthatthebenefitsassociatedwiththecurrentusepatternofresourcesexceedstheiropportunitycosttothenation.However,thisresultcannotbeusedtoestablishtheoptimalityofcurrentexpenditureandmanagement.Approximately170,000adultsvisitedMountCookNationalParkover1984;2958. These expenditures give rise to secondary economic benefits and create opportunities for regional development. Visitor expenditures in the Mackenzie Basin area are associated with 13.4millionofadditionalregionaloutput,6.8 million of additional regional income, and 196 jobs. These effects derive their significance from regional objectives; they are not indicators of the national benefits associated with Mount Cook National Park