AMERICAN MOTORCYCLIST FEBRUARY 2019

Motorcycling, ATV use trending upward

Federal Report Documents Importance Of Outdoor Recreation

 

U.S. spending on motorcycling and all-terrain vehicle riding grew 8 percent from 2015 to 2016 and rose 7 percent overall since 2012, according to a report released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Motorcycling and ATV activities accounted for $20.27 billion in real gross output in 2016, representing one of the fastest-growing recreation segments in the report. For core outdoor recreation activities, gross output includes the gear, equipment, fuel, concessions, maintenance, repair and fees related to the activities.

The Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account measures the size of the outdoor recreation economy and the link between outdoor recreation and the broader U.S. economy.

The report shows that total real gross output for the outdoor recreation economy in 2016 was $734.2 billion, or 2.2 percent of U.S. gross domestic product.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis developed the report under a two-year interagency agreement with the U.S. Department of Interior and other federal agencies that oversee public lands and waterways and was stipulated in the “Outdoor Recreation Jobs and Economy Act of 2016.”

The BEA plans to update these statistics in the future and produce state estimates and other extensions to the satellite account. The full report can be found at www.bea.gov/data/special-topics/outdoor-recreation.