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Green Mountain State maintains #2 ranking for outdoor recreation as part of GDP
Montpelier, Vt. – New data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reinforces outdoor recreation’s significant and growing impact on Vermont’s economy. In 2023, BEA found outdoor recreation created $2.1 billion in value added for Vermont, accounting for 4.8% of Vermont’s gross domestic product (GDP). This makes Vermont second in the country, behind only Hawaii, for the highest contribution to state GDP for the second consecutive year.
“Outdoor recreation is not just an integral element of our visitor economy, but it is baked into the Vermont experience enjoyed by residents and visitors alike,” says Commissioner Heather Pelham of the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing. “Vermont’s world-class outdoor recreation opportunities draw visitors to communities throughout the state and is a large part of the quality of life cherished by many who call Vermont home.”
Vermont’s strong outdoor recreation economy is rooted in small businesses all over the state, from gear manufacturers to bike rental and repair shops, to four-season resorts, guide services, retail stores, and lodging providers. According to BEA findings, in 2023 the highest economic contributor to Vermont’s outdoor sector was snow activities which include skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, dog mushing, tubing, and snow shoeing. Those activities contributed $220 million to Vermont’s GDP, up from $170 million in 2022. Other top contributors included RVing, game areas that include tennis and golf, and boating and fishing.
Other findings in the BEA report include:
- Accommodation and food services grew 9% to $733.5 million
- Retail sales increased 4.5% to $412.8 million
- Outdoor goods manufacturing rose 15% to $135 million
- Tour operations grew 8.1% to $41 million
“We are seeing widespread participation in biking and hiking activities as well as many new groups seeking experiences in the outdoors which led to steady bookings in 2023 for guiding services in all seasons,” says Rick Sokoloff, Owner and Operator of 4 Points VT based in Stowe.
Outdoor recreation also drives job creation and strengthens business in rural communities who rely heavily on activities to attract visitors. The BEA report found that employment in the outdoor recreation sector rose to 16,283 which is a 4% increase from 2022.
“We’ve made promising progress in supporting the development of the outdoor workforce,” says Kelly Ault, Executive Director of Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance (VOBA). “Continued investments in outdoor businesses are key to helping us develop equitable career pathways and lead a climate resilient sector. Making sustainability adaptations now positions outdoor businesses to maintain operations, products and experiences to visitors and Vermonters year-round.”
In 2017, Governor Scott identified outdoor recreation as an important economic driver in Vermont by establishing the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Economic Collaborative (VOREC). Since then, VOREC, with administrative support from the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR), has invested over $10 million in municipal and non-profit led projects in every county of the state to strengthen trails and other infrastructure like signage and parking areas, develop marketing plans, conduct research, and complete planning and community engagement to tie outdoor recreation to downtown centers and generate economic activity.
VOREC is spearheading Move Forward Together Vermont as part of that effort. The initiative is a collaborative, inclusive, and data-driven effort designed to ensure the sustainability and continued growth of the state’s outdoor recreation economy.
Jackie Dagger, VOREC Program Manager shared, “We are working to keep the sector on its upward trajectory by aligning partners around fostering healthy and vibrant communities through outdoor recreation using priority actions that support stewardship, wellness and economic development.”
To find out more information about Move Forward Together Vermont visit: https://fpr.vermont.gov/move-forward-together-vermont
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Categories: Outdoors, Press Release, State Government, Tourism
How much of this was from the Eclipse bringing record number of visitors and traffic backups?
With all of this outdoor rec. throughout the state, Vt needs to raise the sales tax to help offset proprty taxes so that visitors and apartment dwellers can be a part in raising school revenue.
Still, $2.1 Billion is only 3/4 the size of the Agency of Education’s monopolized public-school economy…. the obvious difference being that many non-residents pay for their leisure time here, while Vermont taxpayers fund the lion’s share of the AOE economy. And thank goodness Vermont has nice hiking trails, lakes, mountains, and skiing. Because if the outdoor community, restaurants and hotels performed as poorly as the AOE, no one would come here.
I think it was Republican Gov. Snelling who thought it foolish to spent tourism promotion money on attracting hikers because they “sleep in tents instead of motels and dont eat in restaurants”. Now, outdoor recreation brings in big dollars from people who want to visit Vermont and the democrats have allowed the conversion of many motels into flophouses for junkies, some permanently and put regulations on what has come to substitute for decent motels…short term rentals. Vermont’s 2 biggest industries used to be farming and tourism, and the democrats and progressives have targeted and hassled both in recent years to satisfy their green and woke agendas.
Looks like you posters never worked in a industrial plant like the battery plants that were in Bennington and St. Albans. These were high paying jobs that had good benefits. Both plants are shut down and the only thing these towns produce now are drug dealers. Looks like the wrong tourists are visiting Vermont.
So where did all this generated money go? According to the State, we are experiencing a housing crisis, a healthcare crisis, a mental health crisis, a childcare crisis, an employment crisis, an education crisis, etc. Seems $2 billion would have helped ease some of that pain? Instead, they added $1+ Billion to the budget year over year. The tax revenue for all that went where? Sales tax, gas tax, rooms and meals tax, payroll taxes, income taxes, business taxes, etc. etc. Any details to support these boon numbers? Forest and Parks received $10 million in 2017 and gave it to whom? Non-profits and municipalities? Any audits available to show where they spent that money? Compare and contrast the investments over the pork fed BS – someone is making bank and it’s not trickling down from what most of us see.
Would be nice to know where all this money was generated and where did it go. Ski areas are gold towns and are the places that offer the most year ’round recreation hubs, lodging and dining. Most are owned by big corporations including the rentals.
And we spent 10 billion on bike paths, so there’s that.
And Vermont drug dealers reported 45.3 billion dollar weed and hard core drug sales, up 31.5% from last year, hoping to make Vermont the leader in addicted births! We can be the first state!
Hmmm… Just wondering why my initial comment was censored. For the record, all I did was lay out facts freely available from a State of Vermont website. No finger pointing, no name calling, no foul language, no naming of any individual(s).
So what rule did I break? I’d love to know, as I’m sure many of my fellow regular commenters would as well. Your move, VDC….