Analysis of outdoor recreation industry finds its contribution to GDP larger than that of oil, gas extraction

A federal government analysis of the outdoor recreation’s economic impact reaffirms what many conservation groups have said for decades. Outdoor recreation is a big business.

For the first time ever the U.S. Department of Commerce looked specifically at the economic impact of outdoor recreation. The analysis was published last week.

The analysis found that outdoor recreation contributed $373.7 billion to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product in 2016, comprising 2 percent of GDP. In fact, the outdoor recreation industry’s contribution to GDP was larger than that of all mining, including the extraction of oil and gas.

By Eli Francovich
[email protected]
(509) 459-5508

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/feb/23/analysis-of-outdoor-recreation-industry-finds-its-/