For the first time, BEA has statistics showing how outdoor pursuits like snowboarding, biking and boating ripple through the U.S. economy.
PDF Fact sheet on Outdoor Recreation
BEA estimates that outdoor recreation accounted for 2 percent of gross domestic product in 2016, or $374 billion, and grew faster than the economy overall. We also have data by type of outdoor activity, such as hunting or RVing, and statistics showing how much industries like manufacturing or retail trade produce for outdoor recreation.
These first prototype statistics mark a milestone in the development of BEA’s new Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account.
Feedback about these experimental statistics released in February 2018 will help us finalize the definitions and methodology for the new account. The resulting outdoor recreation report is planned for the fall of 2018.
Of course, U.S. economic activity related to outdoor recreation – like a factory making fishing lures, a family traveling to hike in a national park, or a ski instructor giving lessons – is already woven invisibly into BEA’s broad national statistics, such as GDP. The new account pulls these threads of data together in one place, with expanded detail, to reveal a previously unseen picture of the outdoor recreation economy. This will better inform the public and aid business people, policymakers and managers of public lands and waters.
The new dataset will deepen public understanding of outdoor recreation’s role in the economy and provide useful information to policymakers, business people, and managers of public lands and waters.
Visit https://www.bea.gov/outdoor-recreation for the latest updates on the Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account. Share your comments or ask questions at OutdoorRecreation@bea.gov.
