Boating 2000: A Survey of Boater Spending in Maryland
Profile of Recreational Boating in Maryland and Its Economic Impact
By Douglas W. Lipton
Report Summary
Recreational boating represents a major activity in Maryland, one that continues to expand both in the number of registered boats and its economic impact on the state economy. To estimate that impact, the Maryland Sea Grant Extension Program undertook an analysis of boater spending in the state and its implications for marine-related businesses and the economy as a whole.
Based on 220,800 registered and documented boats in the state in 2000, the study employed a detailed survey questionnaire of boaters conducted by the University of Maryland Survey Research Center. The Department of Natural Resources Boating Administration and the Marine Trades Association of Maryland assisted in designing the survey.
Responses to the questionnaire provided measures of expenditures and spending patterns on such items as food and lodging, fishing supplies, boat fuel and transportation by owners of trailered powerboats, in-water powerboats and sailboats.
The analysis determined that recreational boaters spend more than $2.3 billion for purchases of new equipment, annual boat-related expenses and trip-related expenses. Though some 95% of these purchases were made in-state, a significant portion of dollars spent on some purchases such as gasoline leak out of Maryland to other states or even other countries, that is, they do not contribute to economic activity within the state (Radke et al. 1987). When leakage is accounted for, about $970 million directly impacts Maryland recreational boating and related business, which in turn purchase goods and services from other Maryland businesses; this spending creates an indirect impact or multiplier effect from the initial round of spending.
In addition, Maryland boater spending directly or indirectly creates income for individual workers and business owners which are spent in other Maryland industries throughout the economy, thus creating an induced impact. When the indirect and induced effects of the initial spending are taken into consideration, the impact of the Maryland economy from boater spending in 2000 was about $1.6 billion. Recreational boating also directly accounts for 19,990 full-time equivalent jobs in Maryland and, through indirect and induced effects, a total of 28,200 jobs.
You may download a copy of this report (~2.2M pdf file) and the questionnaire (~72K pdf file). Both files require Adobe Acrobat Reader.
For further information contact:
Douglas W. Lipton
301-405-1280
Internet: lipton@mdsg.umd.edu
