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Getting outdoors has become a significant economic driver. Recent years have seen more people than ever before heading outside, and that’s leading to a ton of cash.
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The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released its latest report showing that outdoor recreation contributed $1.1 trillion to the U.S. economy. The study also found that the industry accounted for 2.2% of the U.S. GDP. The latest numbers continue a trend they’ve seen in recent years.
With the increased cash flow comes a higher demand for people working in the outdoor industry. Nearly 5 million people in the U.S. work in a role related to the outdoors. States like Hawaii, Alaska, California, and Florida saw a more than 10% increase in outdoor recreation-related jobs.
So where does all that money come from?
RVing tops the list at $35.5 billion a year. It’s also the largest conventional activity in 22 U.S. states. That was followed closely by boating and fishing. In third were ATVs and OHVs. In short, the pricier the activity, the more it contributed to the U.S. economy.
While further down the list, snow activities also contributed a whopping $7 billion. The most significant contributing states were Colorado, California, and Utah.
“If there’s one thing to take away from today’s BEA presentation, it’s this: the state of the outdoor recreation economy is strong, and sustained investment in outdoor recreation and our shared public lands and waters pays dividends for our local and national economies and quality of life,” said Jessica Turner, president of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) said in a statement. “Our industry continues to provide benefits to communities across the country—big, small, urban, and rural alike. To ensure that this success is sustainable and that our public lands and waters will continue to be accessible to all Americans for generations to come.”
At a more local level, national parks have also proven to contribute millions to nearby communities. You can find that information here.
And so everything is not bad, just very good!
I liked the block as a whole, but this post was most interesting.
It can be even more fun 🙂