Figure 16: Value of polar bear viewing in Churchill, Manitoba (Foreign visitors)

This graph provides the estimated net consumer surplus for foreign visitors to Churchill. The y axis is the dollar value per person – $1,200. The x axis is the number of visitors to Churchill - 5946.

The area below the demand curve represents the net consumer surplus. To calculate this figure, we estimated the area based on the area of a triangle. The line that best approximates this area intersects the Y-axis at $1,200 for foreign visitors.
 
The following formula was used:

• Net surplus for foreign visitors = (1,200 * 5946)/2

The number 5946 represents the number of foreign visitors to Churchill, respectively, from October to December (average from 2006 to 2008).