We estimate the economic loss due to hypothetical beach closures on the Padre Island National Seashore on the Gulf Coast of Texas. We consider the closure of the entire park, groups of beaches in the park, and for comparison, beaches elsewhere on the coast. We estimate a linked site choice/trip frequency model of day trips. The site choice model is estimated using multinomial and mixed logit. The trip frequency model is estimated using a negative binomial regression. Using the mixed logit model, the mean per-trip loss for the closure of all Padre beaches is about $20; the loss-to-trip ratio is about $180, and the aggregate loss for a season (May–September) is about $73 million (2008$).

JEL Classification Code: Q26