Using the travel cost method (TCM) with a mix of real and hypotetic markets

The problem of defining a reliable economic valuation in a period of lack of reliable and sufficient data is a relevant issue not only for Environmental Economics, and Real Estate Appraisal Sciences, which relies on traditional comparative approaches, developed on the availability of comparable market prices, costs and incomes. In the actual condition, using appraisal methods based on hypothetical markets becomes fundamental to solve the issue, not only for Environmental Goods and Cultural Heritage, but also for any other kind of asset. The paper proposal is eliciting the Willingness to Pay (WTP) through hypothetical markets even with the Travel Cost Method (TCM) to ensure consistent results with lesser errors, compared to values determined using traditional methods facing lack of data issues.