The outdoor recreation economy is huge. And growing. And just how big it is might surprise some people who don’t have a particular connection to the industry.
It’s so big and has so many derivative sectors that topped $1 trillion in 2023, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account. Yes, that’s $1 trillion, with a “t”.
That number shocks many observers and it’s bigger than some other main sectors of the U.S. economy, including car manufacturing, oil and gas, and others, and its magnitude was acknowledged by Megan Lawson, lead economist with Bozeman, Mont.-based Headwater Economics.
“I think the industry is getting much more attention today than ever before,” said Lawson, “and collecting that data gives more explanation of just what an outdoor recreation consists of. It’s not just skiing, it’s not just outdoor sports and it not just retail; it supports a much broader economic swath than many observers understand.”
An Overview
Originally, outdoor recreation “was viewed simply as a trade industry,” said Lawson, but the BEA taking over its statistical analysis “shows what an incredible sector of the U.S. economy it really is.”
For instance, many businesspeople hadn’t really grasped how the hospitality sector “serves as the backbone of the outdoor recreation field and is by far its biggest employer,” she said, while adding that outdoor recreation “also encompasses manufacturing, wholesale and retail, health care and wellness. Residential and commercial real estate are big parts of it, too.”
The industry, of course, got a particularly “big bump up during COVID-19 because that’s how people were able to get out of the house, be it through camping, hiking, biking,” etc., said Lawson.
But as great as that boost was, there “were also hitches, such as when national parks or ski areas closed,” she said, “as well as the supply chain interruptions affected many industries.”
What happened with bike shops is another, and unfortunately ongoing, example. “That part of the outdoor recreation industry has yet to fully recover,” she said. “For instance, at the shutdown, I had to call five shops to find a bike for my son. And the shops were getting lots of calls like mine.”
Such perceived demand gave the shop owners reason to think it was greater than it really was. And they did.
“So manufacturers built way more bikes than they needed,” said Lawson, “even with the supply chain interruptions; today, bike shops are still trying to sell excess inventory.”
She also pointed out that not does everyone that wants a bike have one, the parts are built to last, “which is hurting the manufacturers and the retailers,” she said. “So that part of the industry has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.”
But by taking the macro view, she sees the positives in that people “are getting out and doing whatever” they choose to do. “Manufacturing and retailing may be down, but outdoor recreation touches so many different sectors,” Lawson said.
“People are still going on trips, buying another home, hiring guides, etc., while they use that three- or four-year-old gear. So overall,” she said, “outdoor recreation is doing very well.”
To say it’s going “very well” might be considered an understatement: it contributed about $564 billion to the Gross Domestic Product last year, also according to the BEA. “That number sounds big and it is,” Lawson said. “It’s bigger than the motor vehicle manufacturing, oil and gas, air transportation and performing arts, among others.”
And while she thinks “It’s to going to take a little time for some of the manufacturing challenges to balance out,” she said, “overall I don’t see this sector going anywhere but up.”
Gear Libraries
While many casual observers are surprised to find out the outdoor rec industry’s financial impact, most of those who are involved aren’t ― especially if they’re more inclined to keep an eye on the thickness of their wallets and account balances.
“The average outdoor enthusiast won’t be surprised to find out the economic impact of the outdoor industry because they know how much their equipment costs,” said Lexie Gritlefeld, director of the California Outdoor Recreation Partnership. “It’s the elected officials, who usually are not outdoor enthusiasts, who don’t understand.”
“So when we make our advocacy efforts,” Gritlefeld said, “we try to express to [the politicians] just how important the connection to nature is for people and the economic impact.”
The Partnership also reported the rise in overall activity during the pandemic. “We were surprised to find out from an Outdoor Foundation report that the average outdoor enthusiast changed during that time to not be a Caucasian woman,” she said, “with an income of at least $50,000 annually. In a more recent report, we’re now seeing increases in participation among Black, Hispanic and LGBTQIA+ people as well.”
Gritlefeld said California has the largest outdoor impact in the U.S. with $73.8 billion in economic spending of that $1.1 trillion, along with and 567,636 direct jobs, also according to the BEA. However, with those numbers came a caveat.
“California is low on the participation percentage rate,” she said. “Another study conducted by the Outdoor Foundation asked average citizens if they get outside for 20 minutes or more a week by taking a walk, a hike,” etc. “Surprisingly just more than 50 percent said yes, which places California in the bottom 10 percent of population as far as participation for our population.”
Why? “The main reason is a lack of equitable access. The majority of Californians live in park-poor communities without easy access to the outdoors,” said Gritlefeld, who cited such barriers as the high costs of transportation and, again, equipment.
Therefore, CORP “is focusing on funding for programs to encourage engagement, for our youth especially,” she said. “We work with various organizations that supply used equipment and offer gear libraries (which function like a public book library) such as Bay Area Wilderness Training, which has been in Oakland for 25 years.
“We’re looking at gear libraries to increase access to outdoor activities,” she said, “with organizations like our member, Outdoors Empowered Network, which has a nationwide operation and is assisting other organizations in underserved areas.”
Like California, Pennsylvania has a natural expanse and topography going in its favor. The Keystone State is also home to a large population, thus outdoor recreation “is a huge contributor to its bottom line” with a $17 billion economic impact, said Wesley Robinson, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Outdoor Recreation Division.
That means connection between those vast and various sectors with the market is imperative. “This industry is more about the infrastructure and support that goes along with it,” said Robinson. “That calls for a complete suite of legislative support and municipal investment in public spaces, with connection to the unique businesses in that space.”
That sounds basic, but it’s often easier said than done. “There are places in this industry that do that and others that do not,” he said, “but every element has its place to contribute within this vast ecosystem.”
In Pennsylvania Robinson offered the example of Peter’s Mountain, which is near Harrisburg. “It’s owned by Capital Region Water, which operates the dam and a trail. At the end of the trail, there are some retailers,” he said, “including an ice cream shop ― an ice cream shop that wouldn’t exist without that natural area.”
Health Connections
Gritlefeld also cited other challenges in the industry, which include regulations in California and several other states concerning the ban on sustainable chemistry, notably per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, know colloquially as PFAS.
She said suppliers and manufacturers “have already taken a hit on sales that is now dribbling down to retailer levels, with much of the merchandise that contains PFAS going on sale for big discounts.
“However,” said Gritlefeld, “the buyers don’t always know the reason for the discount.”
But that issue is just part of today’s overstocking. “As the pandemic eased, the sales numbers went back down to 2019 levels ― which weren’t bad, but they came back down to Earth,” she said, but that also meant that much merchandise is still available “and much of it has nothing to do with PFAS.”
But like Lawson, Gritlefeld sees a sunny big picture. “Many of us are disconnected from nature, but we have to recognize that we humans are actually part of nature. Many people have lost touch with the outdoors or have never known it,” she said, “so I encourage people to seek natural experiences.”
And that can make outdoor recreation’s impact cross an even greater economic spectrum. “If we prioritized funding outdoor recreation in this country,” said Gritlefeld, “we would see improvements in our population’s overall physical and mental health.”
Cost Effective
As Gritlefeld noted, heightening involvement can concern access issues and one way millions of Americans solve it is by using and/or purchasing a recreational vehicle. That’s where the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association rolls in.
Monika Geraci, spokesperson for the Washington, D.C., area-based RVIA, relayed that in 2021, 11.2 million households owned an RV. “Our last [in-house] study was in 2011 and at that time 8.9 million households owned an RV,” she said, adding that a new study will be out soon and an increase is expected.
The 2023 figures will be released later this year for what Geraci cited as “the largest outdoor activity for the nation for its economic impact, superseding boating and fishing.”
As for that $1.1 trillion in economic output (which is 2.2 percent of GDP), she pointed out that the industry generates five million jobs that comprise 3.2 percent of U.S. employees, so “across all metrics, the outdoor recreation economy’s growth has outpaced that of the U.S. economy,” Geraci said. “The latest numbers show that RVing was the largest conventional activity for the nation at $35.5 billion in current dollar value added and was the largest conventional activity in 22 states.”
What makes RVing “so popular,” she said, is “it has the ultimate basecamp. Using an RV as part of leisure activities enhances virtually any type of outdoor experience. For hiking or rock-climbing to shooting sports or birdwatching, you can take an RV on your journey and it heightens the experience with some of the comforts of home.”
Another part of the appeal is the variety of options available.
“There is truly is an RV for every lifestyle and price point,” said Geraci. “Motorized and towable options range are available for under $10,000 for a small pop-up trailer all the way up to million-dollar coaches,” with the majority of RVs traditional travel trailers “that cost between $20,000-$35,000.
While the miles per gallon for this mode of transport isn’t great, she said that the higher fuel prices of the past couple of years “haven’t had a significant impact on people using their RVs.”
“What we’ve been seeing with the higher price of fuel is that people stay within a closer radius to their home,” she said, “instead of an extended road trip and perhaps even stay at one destination.”
Not only has the market adapted to that trend, but Geraci cited a study conducted by an outside, independent firm that revealed that RV vacations cost much less than other types of vacation travel, even when factoring in fuel prices and the cost of RV ownership.
According to the study, commissioned by the RVIA and Go RVing, CBRE Hotels Advisory Group found there are average cost savings of up to 60 percent for a four-person travel party, while a two-person travel party saves up to an average of 46 percent, depending on the type of RV and type of vacation.
Rolling Homes
That data proved especially interesting “because of the trend of people wanting to go off-grid, but not skip going to a park or a campground, into the middle of nowhere,” said Geraci. “That approach calls for a more rugged type of RV with bigger tires, solar access and more powerful batteries for the wilderness experience.”
And as rugged as they sometimes need to be, today’s RVs can also be customized for today’s work-from-anywhere environment, too. “There are more RVs with dedicated space,” she said, “for executives, teachers and people who are homeschooling kids.”
Today, glamping has even entered the picture “It’s more hotel-adjacent for destinations with [an accessible] variety of accommodations,” she said. “While most glamping doesn’t involve an RV that someone owns, it is a gateway for people into the camping and outdoor recreation lifestyle.”
That’s another reason Geraci is among the executives across the industry are feeling optimistic about the future after the influx of new outdoor recreation enthusiasts in recent years, despite contending with a few challenges.
“There a change in overall values even before the pandemic concerning appreciating nature,” she said, “and now they’ve become a part of our culture.”
Odenton, Maryland-based Mark R. Smith joined Expansion Solutions after having written about site selection among the vast number of topics he has covered in the 
business universe. That part of his career began in 1993 when he joined The Daily Record, a Baltimore business and legal publication, where he delved into the worlds of economic development and commercial real estate, among numerous other industries; in 2003, he was named editor-in-chief of The Business Monthly, another Maryland publication that covers the scene in the Baltimore-Washington Corridor counties.
