The economic impact of outdoor recreation
The Huron River Watershed Council is an organization that works with local communities to promote water recreation but also protect the river system. This report about the Huron River Water Trail discusses the impact of watercraft recreation on both the community and economy.
Here are excerpts from the report about the outdoor recreation industry:
“In terms of annual consumer spending, outdoor recreation is the third largest industry in the United States, only surpassed by financial services and insurance and outpatient healthcare, and it is the largest industry when comparing the number of people employed” (Huron River Watershed Council, 2013).
"The outdoor recreation economy is comprised of two forms of spending: the purchase of gear and vehicles, and dollars spent on trips and travel. Gear purchases include outdoor apparel and footwear, bicycles, fishing equipment, and backpacks. Vehicle purchases include boats, motorcycles, and all terrain vehicles. Trip and travel purchases include rental cars, lodging, restaurants, groceries, gasoline, souvenirs, lessons, river guides and any other expenses incurred during an outdoor recreation trip. Water sports result in gear and vehicle purchases totaling nearly $20 billion and trip-related sales totaling over $65 billion annually" (Huron River Watershed Council, 2013).
According to this report, outdoor recreation, especially watercraft recreation, is one of the largest industries in the United States. At the Huron River Water Trail, consumer spending usually consists of the purchase of gear, travel, lodging, restaurants and souvenirs. These alone result in over $85 billion annually at the year of 2012 and over 800,000 jobs were created. Cities and towns recognize that outdoor recreation is a key ingredient to healthy communities but also a sustainer to local businesses and families.
Outdoor recreation and watercraft are highly valued and play a big role in local communities and the economy. Knowing the value of outdoor recreation, it is even more important to consider the possible impact recreation may have on the environment. In other words, finding the balance between recreation and conservation is key to having a healthy community, environment and economy.
References.
Huron River Watershed Council. (2013). Huron River Water Trail: Economic Impact Analysis. https://www.hrwc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/HRWT%20Economic%20Impact%20Report.pdf
Brown, D. A. (n.d.). Water recreation down the Huron River Water Trail. https://huronriverwatertrail.org/huron104/
Bugnaski, M. (n.d.). A natural shoreline created by a Michigan Shoreland Steward helps protect water quality on Base Line Lake. https://www.hrwc.org/what-we-do/programs/lakes/shorelines/
