Emerging Opportunities for Commercial Recreation

The commercial recreation industry faces new opportunities due to the changing economic climate and its impact upon public recreation providers (Outdoor Industry Association, 2012). Those recreation opportunities historically offered by public entities are transforming and as a result recreationists are experiencing more park closures, limited hours of operation, a reduction in quality, and ultimately dissatisfaction (Crompton, 1999; Koeberer, 2011). There is a shift occurring and this opens up a wide market for new commercial recreation operators to fulfill this gap. For trail-based recreation this usually requires a sizable piece of land that often precludes most potential market interests. However, with a new approach to commercial recreation enterprise via partnerships, this market can be better utilized while serving a distinct population. The Kingdom Trails Association (KTA) in northeastern Vermont is a model success story for this type of partnership enterprise and offers valuable information for other entrepreneurs wishing to create similar opportunities. KTA provides 110 miles of well-designed trails on 57 different private land owner parcels and two public sites. Facing similar challenges of a commercial business, they have grown to fulfill a new niche in trail-based recreation and now draw over 60,000 visitors a year, have an economic impact of more than $5.6 million, and are entirely self-funded. The story of how this entity grew from an idea by a few local mountain bikers to become “Best Trail System in North America” (Bike magazine, 2008), and “Best of New England” (Travel and Life, 2011), provides a unique look into developing trends in outdoor recreation and ways that commercial interests can serve them

An Assessment of Tourism Sustainability in Abaco, Bahamas

This paper analyzes tourism sustainability within Abaco, Bahamas through the three spheres of sustainability, social, economic, and environmental. The study investigates the perceptions of tourism business operators in order to identify the current conditions of tourism in the Abaco islands, and to identify areas in need of improvement. Ten business operators across the Abacos were asked specific survey questions to determine the circumstances of each sphere of sustainability. Currently in Abaco, both the economic and social spheres seem healthy and functional. The environmental sphere seems to be facing difficulty, however, coupled with limited concern by business owners, due to a lack of noticeable, direct impacts on the tourism economy. Environmental education and awareness programs such as those conducted by Friends of the Environment (FOE), a local environmental organization are educating and creating awareness of the changing environment. While this study provides indications of an “early warning sign” for the tourism industry of the Bahamas, a greater level of protection needs to be put into place, monitored, and upheld with local buy in, in order to to improve their tourism sustainability

Locals, tourists, and water recreation issues at Claytor Lake, Virginia

Claytor Lake is a 4,500 acre impoundment of the New River, located in southwestern Virginia and is ideal for pleasure boating, fishing, swimming, and exploration. In fall 2020 a visitor survey was administered to capture boater and adjacent landowner perceptions of the recreation experience, identify safety concerns, and help managers to informed decisions. Almost 200 surveys were collected over a month of data collection. Results indicate that respondents tend to be a dichotomous group of “locals” who live on or within a mile of the lake, and “tourists” who travel greater than 50 miles to visit the lake. Additionally, these two groups access the lake differently through either private docks and launches, or public launch sites and the state park, which further complicates water recreation management action on the lake. Respondents also indicated significantly higher “negative experiences” with PWC and Wake Surf boats. Of these user groups, it appears that more frequent users of the lake were the ones to report more issues with PWC and wake surf boats. Additionally, waterfront owners or those living within one mile of the lake reported the highest levels of concern around wake surf and PWC users. Finally, issues of concern varied across different user groups, and there were issues reported with safety and crowding, which also varied across user groups. These results are valuable highlights of how user type and distance from a site can influence interests, and concerns, and may therefore be an important component for recreation site manager outreach and collaborative planning efforts. Recommendations include outreach, education, and more cross-contextual communication between user groups and adjacent landowners

Tourism Planning in the Northern Bahamas

The Abaco region of the northern Bahamas is developing its niche as a nature-based tourism destination with a wealth of natural and cultural attractions such as beaches, snorkel and dive sites, blue holes, cultural features, vibrant history, and colorful towns and artistry. Part of this effort is the development of the Abaco Trail, which will highlight regional attractions and link them together for visitors to follow on their own, fulfilling their own interests as their visit allows. In this study, the Tourism Opportunity Spectrum (TOS) was used to gather information to aid in the process of assembling tourism site conditions and function to assist this trail effort. TOS data was collected on ten sites in the Abacos and results show individual condition scores for each attribute on the TOS scale as well as estimated scores for each individual condition based on what changes may occur based on proposed changes at one site. Overall, results indicate that the site conditions in the Abacos fall into the more Primitive end of the spectrum, however proposed changes as one site would move site conditions well into the Urban end of the TOS

Effects of Climate Change on Tourism in the Mid-Atlantic

Climate change is having significant impacts to many facets of everyday life, and the commercial recreation and tourism fields are many times at the forefront of these impacts as consumers are faced with making difficult decisions with discretionary income. Understanding how these impacts are changing the way people engage in recreation and tourism activities is essential to maintaining successful business and providing satisfying opportunities for consumers. This paper will provide information from surveys with commercial recreation and tourism providers across the mid-Atlantic region. Summary information will describe their perceptions of how climate change is: affecting their business; having significant impacts; affecting economic outcomes; changing visitor behaviors; and what future trends in the discipline can be expected as a result of climate change