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published Jan 2019

Backcountry Discovery Routes® and Tourism: How Adventure Motorcyclists Can Help Your Community

In 2017, BDR routes generated $17.3 million in new tourism expenditures, with the average traveling party spending $3,769 on their BDR trip.


published Jan 2019

Economic Impact of Off-Highway Recreation in the State of Arizona

by Arizona State University

From 2016 to 2017 Arizona State University conducted a study to measure the economic impact of OHV recreation, by retained and out of state visitors, on the State of Arizona.


published Jan 2019

Outdoor Recreation in Oregon: Responding to Demographic and Societal Change

by Oregon State Parks

The plan addresses five important demographic and societal changes facing outdoor recreation providers in the coming years including: 1. An aging population; 2. An increasingly diverse population; 3. Lack of youth engagement in outdoor recreation; 4. An underserved low-income population; and 5. The health benefits of physical activity.


published Dec 2018

Greater Des Moines Water Trails Economic Impact Study

Greater Des Moines Water Trails will annually pour tens of millions of dollars into the regional economy, a new analysis shows.


published Sep 2018

Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account: Updated Statistics for 2012-2016

Updated statistics from the Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account (ORSA) released by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) show that the outdoor recreation economy accounted for 2.2 percent ($412 billion) of current-dollar GDP in 2016 (table 2). In data produced for the first time, using inflation-adjusted (real) GDP, the outdoor recreation economy grew 1.7 percent in 2016, faster than the 1.6 percent growth for the overall U.S. economy (table 6). In addition, real gross output, compensation, and employment all grew faster in outdoor recreation than in the overall economy in 2016.


published Sep 2018

FAQ: Our roads are in bad shape... why spend money on trails?

by American Trails Staff

There is a huge amount of evidence that trails add value to properties and bring in significant increases in tourism spending, that roads just do not have.


published Jun 2018

Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans

by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

This second edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans provides science-based guidance to help people ages 3 years and older improve their health through participation in regular physical activity.


published Jun 2018

Investigating the Thru-hiker Experience: A Study on the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail

The phenomena of thru-hiking has been on a dramatic rise, spurring hikers to venture onto increasingly remote and challenging trails over extended periods of time. Despite the recent popularity of thru-hiking, the field remains relatively unstudied. In recreation, the expectations held beforehand have been linked to perceptions after an activity, but this has not been explored in thru-hiking.


published Jun 2018

Outdoor Participation Report 2018

by Outdoor Foundation

A participant in outdoor recreation is defined as an individual who took part in one or more of 42 outdoor activities at least once during 2017.


published Jun 2018

The Economic Impact of Snowmobiling in Utah

by Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism at Utah State University

An analysis on the value of snowmobiling to Utah’s economy, the sociodemographic composition of participants, and more.


published May 2018

Land Ethics for Equestrian Trail Users

Increasing numbers of equestrians on public lands require more awareness of impacts.


published May 2018

Economic Impact of Parks

by National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA)

An Examination of the Economic Impacts of Operations and Capital Spending by Local Park and Recreation Agencies on the U.S. Economy