The outdoor recreation industry is big, growing bigger, and attracting new attention from the Congress and the Administration!
Last month, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appeared on Capitol Hill and described the outdoor recreation industry as one of the nation’s largest and fastest growing. At 2.2% of the nation’s GDP, $734 billion in gross annual output, and more than 4.5 million jobs, its importance to communities across the nation is beyond dispute. His remarks came as Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its first-ever report on the Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account (ORSA).
Check out our video report on remarks by Secretary Ross, as well as BEA Director Brian Moyer here, or click on the picture at the top of this story. For more information on ORSA, visit www.recreationroundtable.org/ORSA.
The future of the outdoor recreation industry relies heavily on policy decisions made in Washington, including those regarding public lands and waterways. To help policy makers – and stakeholders – make informed decisions, the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable is asking Congress to include $1.5 million in funding in FY2019 to take ORSA to the next level, including the development of state data, which will truly capture the scope and impact of the outdoor recreation industry.