Recreational Boat Building Industry Economic Impact of Boating Folder

Several studies have been done to determine the economic impact of boating in certain areas of the country and also the economic impact the factories associated with the industry have on their communities. As certain elements of the industry have came under fire it could be very useful to present some of these economic studies to the public to show how important boating is to your area.

The basic methods for doing economic impact studies have been established by the government which also supplies several excellent resources and examples. The basic concept is there are 3 types of impact.

DIRECT IMPACT - direct expenses by those involved in the activity or industry. For boaters it would be gas, oil, new boat, trailer, food, lodging, boating fees, boat registrations, etc. For factories it would be things like new buildings, tooling, raw materials, labor, and taxes paid into the area under study. Direct Impacts are immediate consequences of economic activity.

INDIRECT IMPACT - come from economic activities attributable to the industry, but are not considered part of the industry. For boaters it could be items purchased by convenience stores for sale to boaters. Gasoline and oil purchased by stations for sale to boaters, advertising purchased by lodges to bring in boaters. For factories it could be raw materials purchased by their suppliers, supplier labor costs, community store employees needed to sell goods to factory workers.

INDUCED IMPACT - these are the multiplier effects as the money continues to turn over inside the area being studied. For example, the local stores pay their people who then spend a portion of their income in the community to others who in turn do the same. The money eventually leaks out of the area being studied after several rounds.

The total economic impact is the sum of all 3 of these impacts. Total Economic Impact = Direct Impact + Indirect Impact + Induced Impact.

The thing that makes the studies easy, is that the government has already identified all the various industries and worked out the various impacts in different regions of the country. This RIM (Regional Impact Model) data is available in the Government Books listed below.

Regional Input - Output Modeling System (1981)
Regional Multipliers (1986)
Oklahoma State University Library Call # ECP276 EC27 R344 MU55

Regional Multipliers (1992)
Oklahoma State University Library Call # ECP276 EC27 R334 MU55 1992

The U.S. Forest Service also has a method called IMPLAN (IMpact Analysis for PLANning). This method was used in the Maryland study below.

Also a technical paper, "Evaluating Alterative Regional Planning Models" by John B. Crihfield and Harrison S. Campbell, Jr. was published in the Spring 1991 issue of Growth and Change. It discussed the application of the RIMS and other models and compares their outputs.

A good local example is the Oklahoma Airport System Economic Impact Study. January 1994. By the Oklahoma Dept. of Transportation and the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission.

• "Economic Analysis of the District's Waterwasy in Palm Beach County FL". Florida Inland Navigational District. Oct. 1999.

• "Recreational Boating and Its Economic Impact in Texas". John R. Stoll, John C. Bergstrom, Lonnie L. Jones. Leisure Sciences. Vol. 10 pp. 51-67. Printed in the U.K. The full version of this study, 86 pages, is available as NSGD# TAMU-T-85-002.

• "Recreational Boating In Maryland An Economic Impact Study". Douglas Lipton and Scott Miller. 1995. A Maryland Sea Grant Extension Publication # UM-SG-MAP-95-02. NSGD# MDU-T-95-001.

• "Estimate Economic Impact of Recreational Fishing on Minnesota Waters of Lake Superior". Jeff Gunderson and Glenn Kreag. 1991. Maryland Sea Grant Program. NSGD# MINNU-G-91-003.

• "The Economic Impact and Valuation of Saltwater Recreational Fisheries in Florida". Fredrick W. Bell, Philip E. Sorensen, Vernon R. Leeworthy. 1982. 118 pages. NSGD# FLSGP-T-82-005.

• "Economic Impact of Marina Recreational Boating on the Florida Economy". J. Walter Milon, David Mulkey, Pamela H. Riddle, and Gary H. Wilkowke. Florida Sea Grant College Report #54. State University System of Florida. 1983. 26 pages.NSGD# FLSGP-T-83-005.

• Boat Building and Repairing is an excellent state of Florida posting about the economic impact of boating in some specific areas.

• "The Economic Impact of Florida Recreational Boating Industry in 1985". J. Walter Milon, Charles Adams. 1987. 16 pages. NSGD# FLSGP-T-87-003.

• "Preliminary Report on a Study of the Economic Impact of the Road Island Boating Industry". Neils Rorholm and David Burrage. 1983. 24 pages. NSGD# RIU-T-83-001.

• "Spending Patterns and Economic Impacts of Michigan Registered Boat Owners". Daniel J. Stynes, Gene L. Brothers, Donald F. Holeck, and Dave Verbyla. 1983. Michigan Sea Grant MICHU-SG-83-210.

• "Economic Impact of Marinas". William Foley Henry, George W. Shaw. 1973. NSGD# RIU-Z-73-081.

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  NSGD refers to the National Sea Grant Depository. The publications are obtainable from them. A link is provided to their web site in the Libraries Segment of our Other Useful Links Section.
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