EPA-231-R-00-001
December 2000
Office of Policy,
Economics, and
Innovation (1808)
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
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A METHOD TO QUANTIFY
ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS
OF SELECTED LEISURE ACTIVITIES
IN THE UNITED STATES
Prepared For:
Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20460
Prepared by:
Abt Associates Inc.
55 Wheeler Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
under contract # 68-W-99-042
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
FORWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
iii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
iv
1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Prior and Related Efforts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2. SCOPE OF STUDY: LEISURE ACTIVITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Total vs. Net Impacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3. BENEFITS OF TOURISM AND RECREATION ACTIVITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Individual Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Social Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Economic Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Environmental Benefits
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Environmental Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
5. AN ACTIVITY-BASED METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Tourism and Recreation Subsectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Economic and Environmental Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Model Inputs and Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Calculation Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Directions for Future Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
6. RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
APPENDIX A: METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
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FORWARD
EPA is pleased to present this study, the first of its kind to develop environmental
indicators for the many industries that comprise the tourism and recreation sector.
Historically, EPA has not focused a great deal of its effort either on the service sector
or on tourism and recreation industries. This report establishes a foundation of
knowledge with the hope of promoting constructive dialogue and innovative solutions
to advance environmentally sustainable travel, tourism, and recreation.
In preparing this report, EPA solicited the perspectives of a variety of organizations
and people. We value these partnerships and considered the wide range of views
before issuing this final report. Important contributions were made by numerous
businesses; environmental and community organizations; academia; and federal, state,
and local governmental organizations.
Contact information:
Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation
Mail Code 1808
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
202-564-4332
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The study is an initial step by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to quantify
the environmental impacts of leisure activities. It is part of a larger effort at EPA to
assess the environmental impacts of important economic sectors and to understand
how the technical, economic, and institutional constraints of companies and
organizations contribute to those impacts. EPA’s ultimate goal is to forge on-going
sector partnerships that support continuous improvement in the environmental
performance of industry sectors.
For the purposes of this study, “leisure activities” are defined as the sum of tourist
activities and recreational activities undertaken buy the American Public. “Tourism”
refers to recreational activities by participants who travel at least 50 miles from home
or spend at least one night away from home. “Recreation” describes activities close to
the participant’s home. Although it is not commonly thought of as a leisure activity,
we also include business travel because it is commonly considered part of tourism.
Leisure activities generate a significant and growing share of U.S. economic activity.
In 1997, direct spending on leisure activities - tourism, recreation and business travel -
was between $436 billion and $512 billion, according to our calculations based on data
published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In 1997, tourism expenditures
1Survey of Current Business, July 2000.
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represented between 3.3% and 4.1% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product. From
1992 to 1997 tourism spending grew at an average annual rate of 6.9% while the gross
domestic product (GDP) grew at an average annual rate of 5.6%.1 Spending on
leisure activities is expected to continue to grow both in absolute terms and as a
portion of the economy as a whole.
Leisure activities are closely tied to the natural environment. Natural attributes such
as lakes, beaches, mountains, or wilderness are often the foundation of local and
regional tourism and recreation businesses. However, large numbers of visitors can
overwhelm the ability of local infrastructures and ecosystems to supply resources and
process wastes. The environmental impacts from tourists and recreationists can
damage or even destroy the natural attributes that tourism and recreation depend on.
Careful management and planning, based on an understanding of the economic and
environmental impacts of leisure activities, can support development that is both
economically and environmentally sustainable.
In this study, we develop a methodology for quantifying environmental impacts of
specific leisure activities, which may then be compared among the activities or
compiled to give a broader measure of impacts from the sector as a whole. This
“bottom up” method was chosen because of the wide variety of leisure activities. We
further separated the impacts of the activities themselves from the impacts of
supporting businesses such as transportation, lodging, restaurants, and retail.
We applied this methodology to ten specific leisure activities. These activities are only
a portion of the overall leisure activities sector. They were chosen because data were
available for them and because together they represent a significant portion of the
spending in the sector. The activities are: skiing, fishing, hunting, boating, golfing,
casino gambling, amusement/theme parks, historic places and museums, conventions
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and conferences, and waterside recreation (which includes any visits to freshwater or
the coast for the primary purpose of being near the water, e.g. for swimming but not
including fishing or boating).
We measured the environmental impacts of these ten leisure activities according to
nine environmental indicators: water use, biological oxygen demand of wastewater,
total suspended solids in wastewater, energy use, air pollution (hydrocarbons, carbon
monoxide, nitrogen oxides), greenhouse gas emissions, and municipal solid waste
generation. The economic impacts of the activities were measured by the single
indicator of direct spending by participants.
Highlights of our results are:
•
In general, the amount of hotel lodging is the most important factor in
determining water and energy use. Exceptions arise when specific activities
require significant quantities of water (e.g., skiing and golf) or electricity use.
C
Quantities of municipal solid waste generated are closely tied to the number of
meals in restaurants that can be attributed to a specific activity.
C
In general, air emissions for activities are determined primarily by the number
and length of automobile trips taken by participants. One exception is boating
activity which has high air emissions arising from boat engines.
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C
Greenhouse gas emissions are strongly influenced by the distance traveled and
by the number of nights at a hotel. High greenhouse gas emissions from these
support activities are a result of the relatively intense use of fuel and electricity,
respectively.
This study has several limitations. First, not all leisure activities are included in the
model. Second, our results are reported on a national level. The actual effects on
local ecosystems will depend on the initial health, sensitivities, and other stressors of
those ecosystems. Third, the model and the results give total, rather than net impacts,
of recreational and tourist activities. For example, we do not compare these impacts
to the impacts of, say, staying home and watching TV or staying with friends or
relatives. With the exception of greenhouse gas emissions, which are quantified for
electric energy production, the model does not quantify indirect environmental
indicators of tourism and recreation, for example, the impacts of new roads built to
accommodate visitors. Indirect economic effects are also not included. Future work
could overcome these limitations.
EPA began this study to better understand the size and nature of the economic and
environmental impacts of tourism and recreation, and to establish a baseline for
measuring the impacts in the future. In doing this we have compiled an extensive
database of information on these industries, and we have developed a tool for
analyzing the data. It is our hope that others interested in this sector will build on this
work to foster the sustainable development of tourism and recreation industries.
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1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
The overarching purpose of this report is to establish a foundation of knowledge to
help understand the environmental impacts of selected leisure activities. EPA intends
to stimulate dialogue and generate interest in the environmental issues surrounding
these activities. We hope this study will highlight potential environmental problems
and opportunities and contribute to future studies that would further help to promote
the sustainability of tourism and recreation activities. With a common starting point,
interested parties can then embark in designing and implementing solutions.
This study provides a basis for beginning a long-term effort to develop a
comprehensive set of information on tourism and recreation industries. It is an initial
step by the EPA to learn more about a portion of the U.S. economy that is significant
and growing quickly and has the potential for wide-ranging environmental impacts.
The report starts by describing what is meant by tourism and recreation, followed by
brief descriptions of potential environmental impacts, then a description of the
methodology developed to represent some of the environmental impacts, and finally a
presentation of some preliminary findings using this methodology.
The term “leisure activities” encompasses large portions of the travel, tourism and
recreation industries. For the purposes of this study, recreational activities carried out
2Survey of Current Business, July 2000
3Memo from Jared Creason, US EPA, dated December 7, 2000.
4Survey of Current Business, July 2000
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close to home would be considered “recreation.” The same activities carried out away
from home would be considered tourism. Specifically, recreational activities carried
out more than 50 miles from home or involving at least one overnight stay away from
home are considered to be tourism. This definition of tourism is used by the Bureau of
Economic Analysis (BEA) and the Travel Industry Association. Business travel is also
considered a type of tourism by this definition.
Americans spend enormous sums of money pursuing leisure activities: engaging in
recreational activities, traveling to sites, staying overnight, eating out, and shopping.
The full economic impact of leisure activities is difficult to estimate. The Bureau of
Economic Analysis (BEA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that
between $278 and $343 billion, or between 3.3% and 4.1% of the U.S. Gross
Domestic Product comes from expenditures on tourism. Business travel in the United
States contributes another $115 and $119 billion, and local recreational expenditures
add between $43 and $50 billion. All together, direct spending on U.S. tourism and
recreation in 1997 was estimated at roughly $436 and $512 billion.2
Tourists’ expenditures support many businesses. These businesses pay taxes, purchase
materials and hire employees, who, in turn, make additional expenditures. When these
multiplier effects are added to the economic picture, we can conclude that spending on
tourism accounts for between $1.2 trillion and $ 1.4 trillion in the United States.3 By
all estimates the leisure sector, comprised in large part of tourism and recreation
businesses, is economically significant and increasingly so. In 1997, the tourism
industry grew at 6.9% per year, 1.3% faster than the U.S. economy.4
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The National Park Service estimates that $10
billion in direct and indirect expenditures, as well
as 200,000 jobs, were created by the 273 million
visits in 1993 to National Parks alone (NPS,
1997). In addition, the National Park Service
estimates that park visits each year contribute
$5.5 billion annually to local economies. When
visits to land managed by other agencies, state
and local parks, and private recreation areas are
taken into consideration, the National Park
Service estimates that these expenditures exceed
$22 billion (ORCA/SGMA, 1995).
Tourism and recreation are closely tied to local environmental conditions. While they
depend on the quality of the environment, they can also result in a host of
environmental problems. Poorly
planned development can damage
the natural environment. Large
numbers of visitors can
overwhelm the ability of local
infrastructures and ecosystems to
provide amenities and process
wastes. State and local
governments are increasingly
taking steps to avoid or minimize
these effects by using prevention and control options, such as land use plans;
environmental impact assessments; legislative, regulatory, and enforcement measures;
training and education; research and monitoring; and community partnerships
(USEPA, 1995).
Because of the importance of tourism and recreation to the nation’s quality of life and
economy, and because environmental protection plays a critical role in sustaining
recreation resources, the EPA is working to identify and assess the interrelationships
among the environment, recreation and economic health, and to educate industry,
governments and recreation participants about these links (USEPA, 1995). EPA
hopes these efforts will lead to continued and expanded partnerships among EPA,
industry, and communities aimed at increasing revenue while decreasing environmental
impacts.
EPA does not intend to use this study as a basis for federal regulation of the tourism
and recreation sector. While EPA’s regulatory programs have greatly improved the
environmental performance of U.S. industry over the past 30 years, limitations to this
process have become apparent. Traditional regulatory programs are often seen as
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complex and costly, and may not apply to many areas of the service sector, such as
tourism and recreation industries addressed in this study.
The study was developed by the Sustainable Industries Partnership Program, a new
approach to environmental policy development that works outside the traditional
command-and-control regulatory process. The Program is based on the premise that
by studying an industry in close cooperation with its decision-makers, EPA can gain a
better understanding of the reasons why businesses embrace or resist actions to protect
the environment. Knowing why and how business decisions are made in an industry
sector can help EPA shape policies that offer incentives for exceptional performance
and overcome obstacles to success. The result is an agenda -- for government,
industry, and others -- leading to long-term environmental improvement by businesses
acting in their own self- interest. In the end, the Sustainable Industries Partnership
Program seeks to help industry sectors improve their environmental performance while
easing the costs and burdens of regulation.
The tourism and recreation sector is one of several industries that have been identified
as likely to benefit from a sector-based approach. To date, EPA has not examined
these industries in great depth and significant information gaps exist. This is due in
part to the size and complexity of the sector which is actually comprised of numerous
industries dispersed throughout the economy. Tourism and recreation can claim a
share of the economic outputs (and environmental impacts) of many industry sectors,
including, but not limited to, transportation, communications, power, wholesale and
retail trade, hospitality, agriculture, ranching, commercial fishing, manufacturing and
construction. While there are relevant databases from several industry trade
associations and government agencies, these sets of data have never been consolidated
to provide information for macro-level analysis of the sector.
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Prior and Related Efforts
Industry, government and academic analysts have studied the tourism industry from
many different perspectives. Their efforts have focused primarily on assessing and
forecasting the economic impacts of the tourism industry on specific geographic areas.
They have developed many models over the years that account for the direct and
indirect expenditures of tourists and recreationists in a region or nation.
More recently, analysts have begun to study the environmental impacts of tourism and
recreation industries. In this study we develop and use environmental indicators to
assess the impacts of selected leisure activities. The approach described in this report,
while unique, has built upon a number of the prior efforts described below.
A 1998 study by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, On the Way to
Sustainable Tourism: How Much Environment is Travel Going to Cost Us?, examined
the environmental impacts of many tourism and recreation industry supply sectors. It
also identified leisure-time activities such as skiing, boating and theme parks that have
significant environmental impacts. However, unlike EPA’s approach described here, it
did not quantify outputs of these activities.
EPA’s 1995 study, Indicators of the Environmental Impacts of Transportation,
developed national estimates of the magnitude of transportation’s impacts on the
natural environment. This study compiled data on all primary modes of transportation
(highway, rail, aviation, and maritime transport) and all environmental media (air,
water and land resources), and covers the full “life-cycle” of transportation. The
report presents a useful framework for developing various indicators of environmental
performance for the transportation sector.
The World Tourism Organization (WTO) Environment Committee has developed
indicators for the tourism industry. The WTO’s Indicators for the Sustainable
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Management of Tourism are designed for use in assessing the sustainability of a
nation’s tourism industry or the sustainability of tourism at the local level. The
indicators cover those factors that are most relevant to tourism industry decision-
makers such as site stresses, infrastructure capacity, endangered species, use and travel
intensity, key resource consumption, tourist to resident ratios, and environmental
controls and planning procedures in place.
The U.S. Travel and Tourism Satellite Accounts (TTSA) provide a useful structure for
analyzing information on specific economic activities outside the structure of the
traditional accounting systems. The satellite accounting standards use the Standard
Industrial Classification of Tourist Activity (SICTA) to account for the numerous
sectors supplying the industry. In this study we used the SICTA to help identify and
define those tourism and recreation supply sectors that directly impact the economy
and environment and to quantify the expenditures of these sectors.
5Throughout this report, EPA uses the word “trips” to refer to all trips regardless of distance
travelled including excursions of less than 50 miles each way.
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2. SCOPE OF STUDY: LEISURE ACTIVITIES
This study examines the environmental impacts of selected leisure activities in order to
improve our understanding of important and growing sectors of the U.S. economy. It
is not a guide for legislative or regulatory policies, but rather a framework for analysis
and exploration. Leisure activities is a broad term that includes outdoor and indoor
leisure activities carried out near home and away from home. For the purposes of this
study, leisure activities’ participants include tourists, business travelers, and local
recreationists.
EPA considered several definitions of tourism and recreation when determining the
scope of this study. For example, the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA)
focuses exclusively on activities in which travel is involved, and defines a traveler as a
person who takes “a trip of 50 miles or more, one way, away from home or stay[s] an
overnight and returns.”5 (TIA’s Travel Scope®) This travel-dependent definition is
useful in representing the importance of tourism for communities wishing to attract
outside economic resources, but it would lead to an underestimation of environmental
impacts associated with selected leisure activities by excluding local recreational
participants. As a result, this study examines both tourism and recreation activities
and their associated travel.
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The indicators were selected because they represent resource uses and environmental
impacts that can affect the natural environment. The indicators were calculated for
both tourists (who travel to participate in the activity) and local participants. For
tourists, the indicators include impacts resulting from the activity itself as well as the
services associated with travel (hotels, restaurants, retail, and transportation). Local
residents typically travel shorter distances and therefore generate fewer transportation
and no lodging impacts.
Despite some important distinctions between tourism and recreation, the
environmental impacts associated solely with an activity are the same regardless of
whether the activity participant is a tourist or a local resident. For example, a local
visitor to an amusement park will require the same amount of energy to use the rides,
consume the same amount of water, and generate the same amount of waste as a
tourist. For some activities, local visitors comprise the majority of participants. Since
the local participants also cause impacts, including them into the scope of this report
generates a more complete picture of the resource use and environmental outputs of
the selected leisure activities than if only tourists were considered.
The study considered ten leisure activities: skiing, fishing, hunting, boating, golfing,
casino gambling, amusement/theme parks, historic places and museums, conventions
and conferences, and waterside recreation (which includes any visits to freshwater or
the coast for the primary purpose of being near the water, e.g. for swimming but not
including fishing or boating). These activities were selected for this study because
data were available and because they were thought to have significant environmental
impacts based on the number of participants and the intensity of resource use and
pollutant outputs.
Selected indicators were developed to estimate outputs at a national level for each
activity. The outputs include water use, energy use, air pollutant emissions [carbon
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monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and hydrocarbons (HC)], greenhouse gas
emissions, municipal waste generation, and waste water quality [Biological Oxygen
Demand (BOD) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS)]. In addition, an economic
indicator was created to capture direct expenditures by activity participants.
It should be noted that only direct outputs and resource uses were included in this
study. Direct outputs result from the activity itself (e.g., water use for snowmaking)
and from the ancillary or supply sectors (e.g., water use in hotels). Indirect outputs,
such as the energy used to build the hotel, are not included.
Total vs. Net Impacts
The calculation of environmental impacts in this report represents total emissions or
total resource use rather than net emissions or resource use. While there are benefits
to an approach which considers net impacts, and quantifying net impacts would
provide a good context for the results of this study, there are two principal reasons
EPA chose to concentrate on total impacts. First, estimates of total use are most
appropriate for establishing a benchmark because they allow us to revisit the
calculations over time to chart reductions or increases to resource use or other
environmental impacts. If the impacts were reported as net values, it would be more
difficult to make comparisons to the benchmark because the environmental impacts of
alternative activities, and perhaps the activities themselves, might change over time.
Second, estimates of total impacts facilitate regional or place-based analyses. Because
some environmental effects depend on the location in which they occur, subtracting
water use in one watershed (e.g., the location of home) from a water use in a different
watershed (e.g., the location of hotel) would give a misleading picture of the resource
use in the region of interest.
Net impacts could be determined by accounting for the fact people consume water and
energy, produce waste, and affect the environment when they are at home as well as
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when they are participating in a tourism or recreational activity. In some cases, their
normal routine may even generate greater impacts. Net impacts could also be
determined by calculating resource use per dollar revenue in the tourism industry and
comparing that figure to resource use per dollar revenue in a different industry. In this
manner, reporting net values would provide a context to help understand the
significance of tourism and recreation activity impacts.
Finally, this study was undertaken with the assumption that tourism and recreation
activities will continue to be pursued and will continue to contribute significantly to
the nation’s economy and quality of life. Under this assumption, it is not necessary to
discuss alternatives to tourism and recreation activities; instead, it is important to set
the stage so that tourism and recreational activities can become more sustainable.
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3. BENEFITS OF TOURISM AND RECREATION ACTIVITIES
Although this study focuses primarily on the environmental impacts of selected leisure
activities, it is important to consider the environmental impacts in relation to the
benefits of these activities. There has been considerable research on the economic
benefits of tourism-related activities; however, measures of economic activity may
understate the total social benefits of leisure activities. As described in the remainder
of this section, the benefits of tourism and recreation activities are realized by
individuals and communities. The environment can also benefit where leisure activities
support the preservation or restoration of natural ecosystems.
Individual Benefits
Research on the individual benefits of recreational activities typically assesses how
much people are paying or would be willing to pay for various recreational services.
Given that billions of dollars are spent on leisure activities in the U.S., and the fact that
studies often show that people would be willing to pay more than they actually do for
certain recreational services, one can deduce that the individual benefits of recreational
activities in the U.S. are enormous.
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Personal enjoyment is the main reason that most people participate in recreational
activities. There are many other individual benefits that can be classified as either
physiological or psychological. Some of the physiological benefits of aerobic
recreational activities include: improved cardiovascular system, bones, muscle
strength, lung capacity and reductions in hypertension.
Some of the psychological benefits of leisure activities, according to the Academy of
Leisure Sciences, include: perceived sense of freedom, enhanced self-competence,
improved sense of worth, improved leadership skills, better ability to relate to others,
enhanced perceived quality of life, and increased learning about history, culture, nature
and cities.
Social Benefits
There is some indication that opportunities for recreation produce societal benefits
through, for example, reducing substance abuse, crime, and social ills (Academy of
Leisure Sciences). Individuals who are mentally and physically healthier tend to be
more productive at work and home, and are more likely to be beneficial members of
society.
Many recreational activities produce social benefits through education and exposure to
different people, ideas, and environments. Similarly, family bonds can be strengthened
when members spend leisure time together. Visiting cultural, historical, and heritage
sites, and participating in outdoor activities also promotes an enhanced appreciation
for and desire to preserve these sites and our natural environment.
6 Memo from Jared Creason, US EPA, dated December 7, 2000.
7The $50 billion estimated as spending by participants in local recreation was not included
the calculation of indirect economic activities.
8Domestic tourism demand is calculated by subtracting travel by U.S. residents abroad and
international air fares from total tourism demand.
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Economic Benefits
Tourism and recreation make up a significant and growing portion of U.S. economic
activity. According to BEA’s Travel and Tourism Satellite Account, the economic
effect of tourism (travel, tourism and business) in 1997 was between $393 billion and
$462 billion. This estimate significantly understates the economic effect of leisure
activities as a whole because it does not include recreation. An estimate of
recreational activities spending, also derived from BEA’s Travel and Tourism Satellite
Accounts, is between $43 billion and $50 billion, bringing the total direct economic
value of leisure activities to between $436 billion and $512 billion.
To gain a more complete picture of the economic contribution of tourism and
recreation, one can use a multiplier to estimate the indirect effects of dollars spent on
tourism. For example, businesses that earn tourism dollars pay taxes, purchase
materials and hire employees. Using IMPLAN input-output model, EPA calculated a
multiplier of 2.77 for the tourism industry6.
Using the multiplier, it is estimated that the total economic impact of tourism and
recreation in the U.S. is between $1.1 and $1.3 trillion dollars7 and total employment is
between 15.1 and 17.8 million jobs nation-wide.8 These data represent national
aggregates for all types of leisure activities, and thus will not be sufficient to
characterize specific types of activities in specific areas. They are useful in larger
studies and perhaps for comparative purposes in studies that are limited in region or
type of activity.
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Ski Industry Environmental Charter
The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA),
in conjunction with environmental groups and
government agencies, developed an
Environmental Charter in 2000. The charter
covers three topics: planning and design,
operations, and education and outreach.
Within these areas are principles for
preventing, reducing and measuring
environmental impacts. As of November 2000,
roughly 160 ski areas, representing 70 percent
of the country’s skiing visits, had endorsed the
charter and agreed to implement the
principles.
Environmental Benefits
The same leisure activities that result in
environmental impacts can also benefit the
environment by preserving natural resources
or instilling an appreciation for the
environment. Although difficult to quantify,
such benefits are important to consider.
Tourism and recreational activities create
economic incentives to protect the natural
and cultural environment. Tourism and recreation can also provide an alternative to
development scenarios that may have greater environmental impacts. Many treasured
natural and cultural sites are protected by federal, state, and local governments for the
public’s leisure and recreational use. Other natural areas of the U.S., which currently
are without government protection but
are supporting recreational uses,
alternatively could be supporting more
polluting or resource intensive
industries. While the environmental
impacts associated with large influxes
of people and the necessary supporting
infrastructure are important to
understand, they should be considered
along with the impacts of the potential
alternatives to gain a more complete
picture. For example, the air, water, waste, and noise pollution associated with a
mining operation may be greater than the impact of a resort located in the same place.
Wetlands Restoration Program -
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The Wetlands program automatically
transfers federal excise tax dollars on
certain motor fuel sales to priority
states with high rates of wetlands
losses. The program has resulted in
surface water quality improvements and
fisheries habitat restoration.
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As a tourism attraction, certain ecosystems
and endangered species can create economic
value, and thereby help to ensure their
protection. For example, jobs and income are
created to support visitors wishing to observe
wildlife and habitat. Similarly, user fees,
taxes on recreation equipment, and license
fees for activities such as hunting and fishing
provide governments with resources to
manage natural resources.
Through exposure to natural and
cultural resources, many tourism and
recreational activities promote an
environmental appreciation among their
participants. This environmental ethic then gets put into practice through the work
and leisure activities of people. It has been observed that the rise of widespread
tourism in the U.S. in the 1950's and 1960's
occurred at the same time as an increase in
the awareness of environmental concerns
among the American public. An informed
and concerned public is a powerful force for
protecting natural and cultural sites.
Recognizing this, businesses and
governments make efforts to educate
visitors to natural and cultural attractions.
Marine Sanitation Device Pump-Out
Program Grants (U.S. FWS)
This program provides grants to install
marine sanitation treatment devices for
low or no fee at marinas and refueling
stations. These additional devices allow
boaters to empty their tanks in some of
the places where the wait had been too
long or there had been a significant fee.
The program is paid for with federal
excise taxes on fishing gear or fuel, and
has increased compliance with sanitary
discharge regulations
Recreational Trails Program
Federal Highway Administration
The FHA collects $50-$150 million
each year from taxes on off-highway
fuel use in order to assist in constructing
and maintaining trails, and mitigate
environmental impacts associated with
recreational trail activities. The National
Scenic Byways Program provides
financial, technical, and marketing
assistance for corridors of special scenic,
recreational, cultural, and historic
significance. The program focuses on
developing and supporting corridor
management plans. The nearly 100
routes designated to date include a large
number of routes in environmentally
sensitive areas.
West Virginia whitewater
rafting head tax
A tax is collected from everyone who
participates in a commercial rafting trip.
The fee goes toward studying the
environmental impacts of rafting. In
addition, the rafting companies have
several river clean-up days.
Page 16
For example, the National Park
Service educates visitors on
the characteristics of park
ecosystems, demonstrates the
manufacturing of recycled and
sustainable goods, and
provides information on the
resource use in park facilities.
Other benefits - environmental,
economic and social - may
stem from tourism and recreation industries. Future work could seek to quantify these
benefits to provide a more complete picture of the impacts of leisure activities.
Amelia Island Plantation
Florida
The Amelia Island Plantation established setbacks from
wetlands and dunes 10-20 years before such setbacks
became law throughout the state of Florida. Its developers
recognized that protecting the fragile ecosystem was an
investment and not a cost, and that this investment would
pay dividends in a quality of life not found at other
resorts. AIP has realized long-term benefits of set-asides,
setbacks and tree/vegetation protection. Property values
have increased and property owners are more satisfied
from an enhanced quality of life. Visitors to AIP
participating in passive recreation such as hiking,
canoeing/kayaking, fishing and bird watching in and
around the wetlands of Amelia Island Plantation
personally interact with the environment. That personal
interaction is the first step toward instilling a sense of
Sleeping Lady Conference Retreat, Leavenworth Washington
Conservation Methods at Sleeping Lady
Electrical energy is used at Sleeping Lady, except for propane used in the kitchen and solar
panels used to warm a small pool. Solar and wind power are not practical at this location, so
efforts are focused on conservation and waste reduction. The Heat Recovery System extracts
waste heat in the kitchen and laundry and transfers it to heat water efficiently and
economically while cooling and dehumidifying hot spots above the oven, dishwasher, and
dryer. The Energy Management System is computerized and allows an attendant to control
heating for the whole site. Unoccupied rooms are not heated. To conserve water and energy for
laundry, bed linens are changed every four days. Compact Fluorescent Lights are used
extensively throughout the site. Building Insulation is made from ground computer paper and
cardboard boxes and blown into the walls with a water-based, fire retardant binder that is non-
toxic. Energy-Efficient window panes are not made from old growth wood. There is an Air-To-
Air Heat Exchanger that exchanges warm indoor air with cold outdoor air while capturing and
reusing some of the indoor heat. Floors are mostly wood: either new maple or fir, or recycled
fir flooring. The bathroom floors are made of a composition of linseed and plant fibers.
Decking around the buildings is made from plastic grocery bags and hardwood chips. Native
Plants, except vegetables and fruits, have been used for all landscaping. Kitchen Waste is all
used on site. All organic waste is composted.
Page 17
4. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Tourism and recreation are inherently linked to the well-being of the natural
environment. Loss of the attributes that make a site or region attractive to tourists and
recreationists can economically compromise the tourism and recreation industries in
that region and detract from the livelihoods of people who depend upon them.
Businesses that supply tourism and recreation goods and services, governments at all
levels, and the tourists and recreationists themselves share a stake in ensuring the long-
term sustainability of recreation and tourism resources.
Sustainable development has been defined as “development which meets the
requirements of the present generation without endangering the requirements of future
generations.” The Environment Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 helped elevate the
concept of sustainable development to a global priority. As discussed in a recent
report published by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation,
sustainability, with respect to tourism development, means:
C
ensuring environmental quality, so that even when tourism grows in volume,
the stress on soil, water, air/climate and site coverage decreases;
C
preservation of biological diversity and responsible management of the specific
uniqueness and beauty of nature and landscape, for nature and landscape are a
non-increaseable and non-replenishable resource;
Page 18
C
decrease of resource consumption and increase of efficiency in using natural
and cultural resources, so that tourism can remain profitable and economically
healthy in the long run.
With improved information and careful management and planning, tourism and
recreation activities can provide economic benefits to communities in ways that do not
degrade the environment. Sustainable tourism and recreation industries can be seen as
protectors of the environment by discouraging less sustainable industries. Sound
management can increase the number of tourists and recreationists that can sustainably
use a site. Likewise, neglect and mismanagement can result in unsustainable impacts
from a relatively small number of people.
Visitors inevitably increase consumption of resources and energy and waste
production at a site. The effect of this on the health of the ecosystem will depend on
the intensity of use, other pre-existing or concurrent problems (e.g., acid rain or
climate change), the ecosystem’s carrying capacity (its ability to withstand impacts),
and the community’s infrastructure capacity. Environmental impacts are not confined
to the site of the activity. For example, some of the largest impacts of tourism on the
environment arise from individuals traveling to the tourism destination. Other
suppliers of goods and services to tourists and recreationists may impact other
ecosystems and may contribute to the overall depletion of natural resources.
Tourism and recreation development in many cases may be environmentally preferable
to alternative types of development. Many rural communities benefit from preserving
their natural resources for recreational purposes, attracting new visitors and residents,
new businesses and economic growth in a manner that is more sustainable than the
alternative extractive industries. Some urban areas have undertaken efforts to
promote tourism in place of the more traditional heavy industrial activities commonly
located near urban areas. In addition to economic benefits, these communities have
benefitted economically from cleaner air and water, more open spaces, and more
Page 19
recreational and cultural opportunities. Similarly, some types of tourism and
recreation can be more sustainable than others. Ecotourism is being promoted by
many communities as a sustainable alternative to more intensive tourism and recreation
such as large scale resort development.
The environmental impacts of tourism and recreation activities vary significantly
among subsectors of the industry. In some cases, the recreation activity itself will be a
major component of sector environmental impacts (e.g., off-road driving). In other
cases, the activity itself has little environmental effects (e.g., bird watching) and the
major impacts result almost entirely from travel to the destination and other associated
activities. In addition, the potential for environmental impacts for a given activity will
vary depending on the vulnerability of the affected environment.
Environmental Indicators
In recent years there has been considerable interest and concern about the combined
economic, social and environmental sustainability of development. Industry and
governments are increasingly looking to integrate environmental concerns into
economic decisions and vice versa. To do so requires a means of measuring and
monitoring environmental impacts. Given that the tourism and recreation industry’s
economic well-being and environmental quality generally enjoy a mutually supportive
or symbiotic relationship, stakeholders in this industry have been leaders in developing
methods for quantifying environmental impacts.
The types of environmental impacts vary considerably depending on the specific
activity. In addition, while some environmental impacts are tangible (e.g.,
concentration of pollutants in the air), many are less tangible and more difficult to
quantify (e.g., strain on an ecosystem). These complications make it a challenge to
measure environmental impacts.
Page 20
Environmental indicators can be used as an effective way to quantify, monitor and
communicate environmental impacts. An indicator is “a measure that provides a clue
to a matter of larger significance or makes perceptible a trend or phenomenon that is
not immediately detectable” (World Resources Institute, 1995). Indicators are used
extensively to track trends and guide decision-making processes in many fields.
Examples of common economic and social indicators include the Gross Domestic
Product and literacy rate, respectively. Indicators quantify and simplify information on
complex phenomena so that it is more readily analyzed and communicated.
Indicators of environmental performance or sustainability are gaining widespread use.
The World Resources Institute, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), the U.S. Interagency Working Group on Sustainable
Development, the President’s Council on Sustainable Development, and the United
Nations Commission on Sustainable Development are just a few of the organizations
that have recently been involved with developing environmental sustainability
indicators. The Environmental Committee of the World Tourism Organization has
developed a set of environmental indicators specifically for the tourism sector. Most
environmental and socio-economic indicators of sustainable development can be
distilled into four categories: 1) resource depletion; 2) pollution; 3) ecosystem risk;
and 4) impact on human welfare.
This existing work on environmental indicators provides a useful slate of measures to
consider in developing this model of environmental indicators for tourism and
recreation.
Page 21
5. AN ACTIVITY-BASED METHODOLOGY
EPA’s model generates economic and environmental indicators specific to subsectors
of the tourism and recreation industries. These indicators, alone and in combination
with other subsector-specific data such as participation rates, and person-days of
participation, provide measures to chart progress toward more sustainable tourism and
recreation.
Tourism and Recreation Subsectors
Subsectors are defined by leisure activity. The activities or subsectors included in this
study are: skiing and snowboarding, fishing, hunting, boating, golf, casino gambling,
amusement/theme parks, historic places and museums, conventions and conferences,
and waterside recreation (which include any visits to freshwater or the coast for the
primary purpose of being near the water and not including fishing or boating). These
activities were chosen because they may have significant economic or environmental
impacts and because there are reliable data on participation, related businesses and
facilities, economic expenditures and associated resource use of the activities
themselves. These subsectors could be augmented with other subsectors of interest
Page 22
Environmental Indicators Model
Tourism/Recreation
Subsectors*
Lodging
Retail
Restaurants
Transportation
Environmental and
Economic Impacts
Solid
Waste
Energy
Other Environmental and
Economic Indicators
(for Future Analysis)
Expenditures
Air
Pollution
Water
Use
Waste-
Water
* Examples include: Skiing, Fishing, Hunting, Boating, Golf, etc.
Greenhouse
Gases
Activity
Specific
Activity
Specific
such as: all terrain vehicle (ATV) use, snowmobiling, cruises, arena/stadium events,
camping/hiking, and many more.
Two types of economic and environmental indicators are measured for each activity:
those for recreational activities themselves, and those for supporting activities, e.g.,
traveling to the destination, food and lodging, that are undertaken in direct support of
the recreational activity. The impacts associated with the activities themselves include
those arising from all participants, regardless of the distance traveled to get to the site.
Only the direct economic and environmental impacts are calculated in the model. That
is, the model includes those supply sectors that deal directly with tourists and
recreationists. Direct businesses and services include hotels, restaurants, and airlines,
Page 23
while indirect businesses and services might include laundry services, equipment
manufacturers, travel publications, restaurant suppliers, real estate developers, and
banks. For example, indicators of the environmental and economic impacts of airline
travel are assessed using this model, but indicators of impacts associated with
manufacturing the aircraft are not. Indirect environmental impacts, while potentially
important contributors to an industry’s overall impacts, are often more difficult to
quantify and attribute to a specific industry.
This model differs from earlier models of tourism and recreation. Most are designed
to measure and forecast the economic impacts of tourism as a whole, either at a
national or regional level, or to assess site-specific impacts of individual tourism and
recreation activities. These models do not examine environmental impacts on a
national scale for specific activities.
This model captures the diversity of the tourism and recreation sector, allowing a
better understanding of its many segments. A more aggregated approach would place
attention either on a few large sources of environmental impacts that are common to
all tourism (e.g., transportation) but miss individual subsectors’ unique economic and
environmental impacts, as well as factors that influence environmental protection
decisions in particular segments of these industries.
Economic and Environmental Indicators
In its current state, the model uses a single economic indicator of expenditures on
tourism and recreation. The model uses nine environmental indicators: water use,
wastewater [Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS)],
energy use, air pollutant emissions [carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx),
and hydrocarbons (HC)], greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalents), and municipal
solid waste generation. The indicators presently included in the model were selected
for two primary reasons: 1) data for each are frequently collected by both government
Page 24
and industry, and 2) they can be quantified for each subsector (i.e., they are not
subsector specific) allowing for comparisons between subsectors. Any indicator that
fits these criteria could be added to the model. Other economic indicators that could
expand the model include employment, wages, and tax revenues. Future expansion of
environmental indicators could include renewable energy use, other toxic and criteria
air emissions, waste recycling, and toxic wastewater pollutants.
The indicators focus on the total impacts of subsectors, rather than on the net impacts
of participants. Total impacts are relevant for communities, policymakers, and tourism
managers who seek to identify and mitigate impacts on particular tourism and
recreation sites or regions. For groups interested in net impacts, such as communities
weighing tourism and recreation against a different economic development scenario, or
tourism and recreation participants who are concerned about their impacts relative to
their everyday impacts at home, it would be necessary to calculate the indicators for
the alternate activity and subtract those values from the ones reported in this
document.
Brief discussions of each indicator, the industry supply sectors that are currently
accounted for in the model, and how these indicators actually relate to environment
and human health concerns are provided below. Appendix A provides a detailed
description of the inputs used for specific subsectors and the data limitations.
Water use: The water use indicator in this model accounts for gallons of water
used in lodging, restaurants, retail, and the recreational activities. Fresh water
is essential for household, agriculture, industrial and commercial purposes. It is
also a critical habitat for many plant and animal species. Water taken from an
ecosystem for human use can temporarily or permanently affect the recharging
needs of wet and wetland habitats and the essential physical functions of the
water cycle, such as the cleansing action of flood waters.
Page 25
Wastewater pollutants: Wastewater pollutant indicators in this model were
developed for lodging, restaurants, retail and specific sectors (where data were
available). Two measures of water pollution are included: Biological Oxygen
Demand (BOD) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS). BOD is an indication of
the amount of organic matter in water that is released to the environment.
Because microbes consume oxygen when they break down organic matter, less
oxygen is available in polluted water for fish and other aquatic life. At very
low oxygen concentrations, advanced aquatic life ceases. Total Suspended
Solids (TSS) impact an aquatic environment in several ways. They reduce
light penetration, which affects algae and plants that depend on photosynthesis.
Solids can clog fish gills, which either kills the fish or reduces their growth
rate. When solids settle out, they cover the bottom of the waterbody and can
bury eggs and degrade the habitat of bottom-dwelling organisms.
Energy use: The energy use indicator is measured in British Thermal Units
(Btus) and accounts for electricity and fuel use associated with lodging,
restaurants, retail, transportation, and recreational activities. Fuel use comes
not only from transportation, but also from furnaces and boilers used in hotels,
restaurants, and retail for heating and cooking. Units of fuel and electricity
consumption are translated into Btu’s for comparison purposes. Btu values are
not calculated to account for secondary fuel use, that is, fuel use at electric
power generation plants.
Air pollutant emissions: Air emission indicators in the model account for
direct air emissions from transportation, restaurants, retail and recreational
activities. These values do not include the generation of electricity as a source.
The air emissions indicators include carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides
(NOx), and hydrocarbons (HC). These indicator pollutants have the potential
for direct impacts on human health, vegetation and materials damage. Carbon
monoxide is a poisonous inhalant that deprives the body tissues of necessary
9Unlike the indicators that include only direct impacts, the greenhouse gas indicator
captures the impacts associated with electric power generation which is otherwise considered an
indirect impact.
Page 26
oxygen. Nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons can have adverse effects on
humans when inhaled above certain concentrations. Environmental impacts
also arise when these pollutants are present together in the atmosphere, where
they react in the presence of sunlight to form photochemical smog, or ozone.
Photochemical smog is damaging to plants, reduces visibility, can be
detrimental to human health, and can degrade the overall experience of leisure
activity participants.
Greenhouse gas emissions: Greenhouse gas emissions are calculated for
lodging, restaurants, retail, transportation, and recreational activities.
Emissions from these categories are primarily due to the combustion of fossil
fuels and include emissions from electric power generation.9 The major
greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide
(N2O). Emissions of these three gases are converted to a single measure
through established factors, and are reported in this report as CO2 equivalents.
Though greenhouse gas emissions are generated during fossil fuel combustion
like other air pollutants such as CO, NOx, and HC, they are presented
separately because the type and scale of their effects are quite different.
Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere, so that an overabundance of
these gases increases temperatures worldwide. This temperature increase in
turn causes shifts in climate patterns that lead to droughts, floods, eroded
agricultural soil, and disrupted ecological habitats. Also, due to the increased
temperature of oceans and the melting of polar icecaps, sea levels rise.
Municipal solid waste generation: The waste generation indicator takes into
account tons of municipal waste generation associated with travel, lodging,
restaurants, retail facilities and specific recreational activities. The effects of
municipal wastes on the environment are varied. First, municipal wastes are
Page 27
comprised of wasted raw materials and natural resources. Improperly
managed municipal wastes in the environment can spread infectious disease
and be toxic to human health and the environment. The management of
municipal wastes can also have adverse impacts on the environment. The
collection, processing, and recycling of wastes are all energy intensive and
costly. Landfilling and incineration both result in residual releases to the
environment.
Model Inputs and Outputs
The model requires various activity-specific trip data and activity-specific
environmental data as inputs. The trip-related data inputs (e.g., annual number of
participants, trips of any length or duration, miles, days, overnights, and expenditures)
are primarily obtained from industry surveys specific to each activity subsector. Such
survey data may not be in the exact form required by the model or may not encompass
all of the required information. Therefore, the actual model inputs are often derived
from two or more separate sources, and occasionally from assumptions based on travel
and expenditure patterns in the U.S. Activity-specific environmental data are obtained
from a variety of sources, including industry surveys (e.g., water used by golf
courses), engineering texts (e.g., typical water usage in waterside recreational areas),
and government studies (e.g., electric power usage by conference and convention
centers).
In addition to the sector-specific input data, there is also a significant amount of
environmental indicator data not specific to the activity subsectors embedded within
the model. Examples include: average water and electric power use per hotel guest,
air emissions per mile of automobile travel, and average waste generation per
restaurant meal. These data are constants and are the same for all subsectors.
Page 28
The model uses the input data to identify the relationships between tourism and
recreation activities and sustainable development. Theoretically, the model can output
hundreds of different combinations of the input data. However, only a portion of these
combinations are useful in gaining a better understanding of sustainability issues. A
comprehensive list of the model input requirements and output measures are
summarized in the tables below. The indicators measure either emissions or resource
use. In order to understand the sustainability issues surrounding these results, one
must consider the effect of the activities on a specific ecosystem or community. There
is substantial variability in the capacity of ecosystems to withstand environmental
stresses such as the withdraw of freshwater or increased air pollutant emissions.
Linking these stresses to actual environmental effects requires additional data and
analysis at a local level. This would be a valuable next step for readers who wish to
understand the sustainability of leisure activities.
Page 29
Tourism and Recreation Model Environmental Inputs
Lodging Restaurant
Retail
Transporta-
tion
Activity-
Specific
Water use
X
X
X
(X)
BOD
X
X
X
(X)
TSS
X
X
X
(X)
Electric energy
use
X
X
X
(X)
CO
X
X
X
X
(X)
NOx
X
X
X
X
(X)
HC
X
X
X
X
(X)
CO2
equivalents
X
X
X
X
(X)
CH4
X
X
X
X
(X)
N2O
X
X
X
X
(X)
Waste
Generation
X
X
X
(X)
(X): When applicable
BOD: Biological Oxygen Demand, TSS: Total Suspended Solids, CO: carbon monoxide, NOx: nitrogen oxides,
HC: hydrocarbons, CO2: carbon dioxide, CH4: methane, N2O: nitrous oxide
Page 30
Tourism and Recreation Model Subsector Inputs
General
number of participants
number of trips
number of person-days
Lodging-related
number of overnight stays
number of lodging days
number of checkout days
lodging expenditures
Restaurant-related
number of meals
restaurant expenditures
Retail-related
retail expenditures
Travel-related
person miles – auto
person miles – air
Activity-specific
environmental inputs
water use
wastewater generation
electric energy
air emissions
greenhouse gas emissions
waste generation
Page 31
Outputs for Each Activity Subsector
Per
Participant
Per $
Expenditure
Per
Person-Day
Per TripLodgingRestaurantsRetail
Water UseXXXXXXX
BOD GenerationXXXXXXX
TSS GenerationXXXXXXX
Electricity UseXXXXXXX
CO EmissionsXXXXXXX
NO
x
EmissionsXXXXXXX
HC EmissionsXXXXXXX
Greenhouse Gas
Emissions
XXXXXXX
Waste GenerationXXXXXXX
Miles TraveledXX
Lodging DaysXX
ExpendituresXXX
BOD: Biological Oxygen Demand, TSS: Total Suspended Solids, CO: carbon monoxide, NO
x
: nitrogen oxides, HC: hydrocarbons
Page 32
Industry-Wide Outputs
Water Use
Wastewater BOD Generation
Wastewater TSS Generation
Energy Use
CO Emissions to Air
NOx Emissions to Air
HC Emissions to Air
Greenhouse Gas Emissions to Air
Municipal Waste Generation
BOD: Biological Oxygen Demand
TSS: Total Suspended Solids
CO: carbon monoxide
NOx: nitrogen oxides
HC: hydrocarbons
Calculation Methods
There are two methods used to calculate the indicators, depending on the available
data. Appendix A provides more detail on the two methods. Most indicators for the
different recreation activities and sectors were determined by a calculation of the form:
P * R = E
Where P represents the participation (e.g., visitors, hotel nights, etc.), R is an
emissions factor that has been converted to quantity per unit of participation, and E
represents the total value of the indicator for the particular subsector (e.g., annual
NOx emissions by the boating subsector).
For a limited number of activity/sector combinations, the indicators were estimated
with an alternative method:
Page 33
X * M = E
Where X represents expenditures in an activity and M is an emissions factor expressed
in terms of quantity per dollar spent on the activity. Indicators calculated with this
method include those for fishing, hunting, boating, and conferences and conventions,
as well as indicators associated with the retail supply sector.
Limitations
When interpreting the outputs of this model, it is important to keep in mind the
objectives of the modeling approach and its limitations. This methodology may be
used to compare environmental performance among activity-based subsectors of the
industry. Such comparisons can be used to identify and prioritize individual subsectors
(e.g., skiing, golf) or certain aspects of subsectors (e.g., travel, lodging, or the
recreational activities themselves) that could be the focus of initiatives to improve
environmental performance. This study also provides a baseline measure of
environmental performance of some of the industry’s subsectors. Trends over time
can then be tracked against this baseline.
The indicator values are estimated from a number of data sources. The quality of
these sources can vary widely. Occasionally data are not available or are incomplete,
requiring that certain effects be left out or estimated. In some cases, environmental
indicator data from a single recreational facility is extrapolated to the entire activity
subsector in the U.S. Furthermore, all possible contributors to an economic or
environmental indicator may not be considered.
Initial efforts have been focused on obtaining and incorporating the largest
contributors to a resource consumption or waste issue, occasionally at the expense of
relatively small contributors. For example, in quantifying water use by the golfing
Page 34
subsector, considerable efforts were made to establish accurate values for irrigation
water use, which is a relatively large source of water use for this subsector. Water use
for sanitary purposes was not factored into the indicator because of the lack of
available data. Including these data in future water use estimates for golf courses will
provide a more complete picture of golf course water use.
The participation rates for each activity may be underestimated as well; all of the
surveys, except that used for the Amusement/Theme Park subsector, were based on
telephone or mail surveys of American households. As a result, the participation rates
reported for most subsectors do not include international travelers to the U.S. It is
estimated, however, that only 4% of trips in the U.S. greater than 100 miles are due to
international travelers; but at the same time trips over 100 miles only make up a
portion of the participants we are studying. Given the overall degree of accuracy of
this study in its current form, this omission is not expected to be a significant
limitation.
In addition, simplifications were made for some subsectors and producer industries.
For example, the role of second homes and families’ and friends’ homes were not
considered. Instead, travelers to second homes were considered, for the purposes of
the indicators, to stay in hotels or motels. This simplification overestimates lodging
expenditures and may affect other indicators. Second homes also may have impacts in
areas not considered in this study, including land use and property tax revenues.
It is important to note also that, at this stage, not all of the environmental indicators
are considered for all of the supply sectors. While water use, electric energy use and
waste generation are estimated for the lodging, restaurant and retail supply sectors and
for the activities themselves, they are not yet estimated for the transportation supply
sector. As noted earlier, the indicators only address the direct impacts of each activity.
The impacts of related infrastructure and development, such as new housing and roads
Page 35
that often come hand-in-hand with tourism and recreation attractions, are not
examined.
Another important limitation of this study is that it addresses environmental impacts on
a national level. The indicators provide a broad perspective and do not distinguish
variations in season or actual environmental stress that depend on the location of the
activity. For example, air emissions of NOx from cars and airplanes are treated
equally, despite the fact that NOx emitted from aircraft above 10,000 feet may have up
to 50 times the greenhouse gas effect of NOx emitted closer to the ground. Similarly,
water use for snowmaking in the mountains is treated the same in this model as water
use for golf courses in the desert. The environmental stress from water consumption
is likely to differ in each of these situations. The model also does not distinguish
between total water use, some of which returns to the source following snowmaking
or irrigation, and consumptive water use.
Finally, when interpreting the model results, it is important to understand that there
may be some overlap between the economic and environmental indicator values
attributed to each subsector. Efforts were made to minimize overlap between activity
subsectors, but tourists and recreationists often participate in multiple activities and
occasionally it is difficult to say where one activity ends and another begins. An
example is the potential overlap between the fishing and boating activity subsectors.
The data assembled on the boating subsector were in part collected from a survey of
individuals who stated that their primary trip activity had been boating. Nevertheless,
a portion of their time may have been spent fishing. Therefore the model may be
attributing some fishing travel and visiting impacts to the boating subsector. The data
assembled on the fishing subsector covered individuals whose primary trip activity had
been fishing. Again, a portion of the impacts that can be associated with boating may
have been attributed to the fishing activity subsector.
Page 36
Directions for Future Work
The model described in this report is a work in progress. It offers a flexible, analytical
tool to better understand the environmental impacts of leisure activities. The model
was designed to grow as additional data become available and as new applications for
it arise. With additional research to refine input data, any activity subsector can be
examined in greater detail. The model also could be configured for interactive access
through additional formats, such as the World Wide Web.
In addition to continually improving the existing subsector specific data inputs, we
have identified a number of promising areas for future work.
Incorporate additional subsectors.
The ten activities presently included comprise a large portion of the tourism and
recreation industry’s economic and environmental impacts. Still other activities
potentially having significant impacts are not yet included. We designed the model to
make it possible to add new subsectors. Additional activity subsectors that could be
included are: snowmobiling, all terrain vehicle (ATV) use, recreational vehicle (RV)
use, hiking and camping, and cruises.
Incorporate additional economic and environmental indicators.
Currently the model provides a set of important indicators for examining and
comparing the economic and environmental impacts of selected leisure activities.
Additional indicators, both economic and environmental, could make the model a
more useful tool. Key economic indicators for consideration include employment and
tax revenues. Suggested additional environmental indicators include water use in arid
regions versus water use in temperate regions, toxic pollutants in wastewater
discharges, air toxics, and species endangerment. In addition, since tourism, travel,
and recreation activities can have positive environmental effects, indicators such as
habitat preservation and watershed protection may also be added.
Page 37
Incorporate indirect economic and environmental impacts.
The model looks only at direct economic and environmental impacts. Indirect impacts
are those associated with products and services that are not provided directly to
tourism and recreation participation. For example, air pollutant emissions associated
with the generation of electricity used by tourism and recreation businesses are not
currently considered in the model. Nor is the economic impact associated with
expenditures on this electricity included. Such indirect impacts, while likely to be
significant, were beyond the scope of the study, which is limited to those economic
and environmental impacts that are directly affected by industries in the tourism and
recreation subsectors. Furthermore, a more advanced model and additional data
would be required to capture the indirect effects.
Incorporate time trends for forecasting.
Addition of time trends to the model would allow its use as a forecasting tool. The
economic impacts, environmental impacts, and resource use associated with each
subsector may change over time. Activity participation rates and the number and
distribution of facilities also vary with time. Tourism and recreation activities that
have relatively little impact today could have significant impacts in the future, and
other activities could decline in importance. The model could be expanded to include
trends data as inputs and then output measures could be estimated for future dates.
Net effects.
The calculation of net effects would provide a context to understand the environmental
impacts of leisure activities relative to other activities (e.g., going to work, gardening)
or industry sectors such as agriculture, mining or manufacturing. However,
accounting for all of the different variables that would determine the positive or
negative net effect of engaging in these leisure activities (versus staying at home and
commuting to work) would be difficult. Future work on this would require additional
collection of more recent data, then analysis to account for the “substitute effects”
generated by participating in leisure activities.
Page 38
6. RESULTS
This section demonstrates the application of the model by presenting comparisons of
selected indicators and measures across activity subsectors. Results for the skiing,
fishing, hunting, boating, golf, casino gaming, amusement/theme parks,
historic/cultural attractions, conventions and conferences, and waterside recreation
subsectors are presented in Tables 1 and 2, and Figures 1 through 17 below.
As discussed in the previous section there are several limitations which should be kept
in mind when reviewing the results of this study. The reader should refer to that
discussion to assist with appropriate interpretation of the results.
Table 1 presents for each of the ten activity subsectors a few key data inputs that often
have an important influence on the resulting environmental indicators for the
subsectors. These key inputs include: number of participants, expenditures, lodging
days, travel miles by mode of travel, and activity-specific indicators. Table 2 presents
some of the key indicator outputs for each activity subsector. Key outputs include
water use, wastewater, energy use, municipal waste, air emissions, and greenhouse
gases.
For each environmental indicator the results are presented such that comparisons can
be made among the activity subsectors. One graph for each indicator presents the
Page 39
total consumption/generation for each subsector. A separate graph indicates the same
quantities per 1,000 dollars of expenditures, per trip, and per participant. A few
observations for each environmental indicator are presented below.
Water use
Because hotels and motels use large quantities of water, the total water used by an
activity subsector will primarily be a factor of days of overnight lodging associated
with the subsector. The exception is when there is significant water use associated
with the recreational activity. The conferences and conventions subsector illustrates
the influence of lodging days on water use. Table 1 shows that there is a relatively
large number of lodging days and few trips associated with conference and convention
participants compared to the other sectors studied. This results in very high water use
per participant and trip as seen in Figure 2.
Other subsectors, such as museums and historical places, and waterside activities have
a relatively high total water use due to their relatively high number of lodging days and
participation rates. However, when presented as a ratio of expenditures, trips, or
participants as in Figure 2, the values are similar to the other sectors. Waterside
recreation has a high water use by expenditure due to the relatively low total
expenditures for this activity.
Wastewater
BOD and TSS generation differ somewhat in their primary sources. For most
subsectors, restaurants are the source for the majority of BOD. This is because of the
high concentration of fats, oils and grease that are released to wastewater during
cooking and clean-up. With regard to TSS, however, most can be attributed to hotels.
This may be because of the high water consumption at hotels. The results indicate that
among the subsectors on a per-participant and per-dollar expenditure basis, waterside
had the highest BOD and TSS release rates. Conventions had the highest BOD and
Page 40
TSS release rates on a per-trip basis because of the higher percentage of participants
who stay in hotels.
Energy Use
Total energy use for each subsector is primarily a factor of overall participation and
lodging days. Two of the subsectors that consume the most energy are waterside
activities and museums and historical places (Figure 8). Because Figure 9 shows that
the energy use is about average by trip and participant for these two subsectors, we
can conclude that the high participation rates are driving the large total energy use.
Another energy-intensive sector is conferences and conventions; this is primarily due
to the large portion of participants using hotel lodging. Figure 10 indicates that
waterside activities are the largest consumer of energy for transportation, which is
driven by the high participation rate.
Air Emissions
Air emissions in the tourism and recreation industry are primarily driven by distances
traveled by automobile to the activity site and by the activities themselves. For the
subsectors studied, the boating and waterside recreation subsectors account for much
of the air emissions. In the case of boating, the higher emissions can be attributed to
the use of boat and jet ski engines, which tend to have significantly lower efficiencies
and emission controls than automobile engines, resulting in high HC, CO, and NOx
emissions. The relatively high air emissions for waterside recreation can be attributed
to the large distances traveled by the many participants and frequent trips in this
subsector.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions are dependent on transportation and, to a lesser extent,
lodging. Transportation accounts for between 40 and 90 percent of greenhouse gas
Page 41
emissions. Emissions per participant are highest for waterside activities, because of
the high number of trips per person. Per trip emissions are highest for convention
participants because many of these trips involve long-distance flights.
Municipal Solid Waste Generation
Municipal solid waste generation is primarily dependent on the number of restaurant
meals. Figure 11 shows that of the subsectors studied, the waterside activity subsector
generates by far the largest quantities of municipal solid waste. An examination of
Figure 12 also shows a relatively high rate of waste generation per participant. Table
1 shows that the subsector also accounts for the largest number of meals and that
activity-specific waste generation has been attributed to the subsector. In addition,
waterside recreation is associated with frequent overnight trips resulting in a relatively
high number of lodging checkout days. Estimates for waste generation during
checkout days are considerably higher than normal lodging days. (Rhyner, Shwartz et.
al., 1995) All of these factors contribute to the large waste generation rate for the
waterside recreation.
Page 42
Table 1: Key Data Inputs by Activity Subsector
Variable
Skiing
Golf
Fishing
Hunting
Boating
Waterside
Conventions
Amusement
Historical
Casino
Participants
9,500,000
23,000,000
35,000,000
14,000,000
36,000,000
132,000,000
26,000,000
54,000,000
54,000,000
60,000,000
Total Trips1
27,000,000
280,000,000
510,000,000
220,000,000
290,000,000
978,000,000
43,000,000
260,000,000
240,000,000
180,000,000
Total Days
53,000,000
530,000,000
630,000,000
260,000,000
530,000,000
1,900,000,000
120,000,000
260,000,000
450,000,000
270,000,000
Avg. Length of
Overnight Stay
4.7
4.9
3.0
3.0
4.7
6.2
3.0
n/a
4.3
3.70
Total Lodging Days
21,000,000
140,000,000
25,000,000
6,300,000
126,000,000
630,000,000
90,000,000
97,000,000
220,000,000
95,000,000
---Regular Days
16,000,000
120,000,000
16,000,000
4,200,000
100,000,000
530,000,000
60,000,000
90,000,000
170,000,000
69,000,000
---Checkout Days
4,400,000
30,000,000
8,400,000
2,100,000
27,000,000
100,000,000
30,000,000
6,900,000
50,000,000
26,000,000
Total Meals
140,000,0003
860,000,0003
1,300,000,0003
520,000,0003
830,000,0003
4,900,000,0003
470,000,0003
620,000,0003
690,000,0003
530,000,0003
Total Expenditures
(millions)
$ 9,900
$21,000
$25,000
$16,000
$16,000
$46,0003
$17,000
$34,000
$62,000
$100,000
Total auto-miles(millions)
2,600
4,300
40,000
18,000
18,000
170,000
3,700
13,000
7,100
44,0003
Total person air-miles (millions)
9,2003
6,400
10,000
4,300
10,000
95,000
24,000
46,000
39,000
19,000
Activity Specific Water Use
(million gallons)
50,0002
3,500
n/a
n/a
2,200
n/a
350
2,100
1,800
8003
Activity Specific BOD (tons)
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
240
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Activity Specific TSS (tons)
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
195
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Activity Specific Energy Use
(billion Btu)
5,6002
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
1,900
9,9003
n/a
4003
Activity Specific Solid Waste
Generation (lbs)
150,000,000
n/a
n/a
n/a
350,000,000
75,000,000
2,400,0003
640,000,0003
9,000,000
n/a
Total Activity Specific Air
Emissions (tons)
---HC
18
4,900
n/a
n/a
610,000
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
---CO
55
260,000
n/a
n/a
2,300,000
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
---NOx
218
1,700
n/a
n/a
46,000
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
---Greenhouse Gases
(tons CO2 Equivalent)
760,000
n/a
n/a
n/a
13,000,000
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
Results are based on the methodology and limitations described in this report.
BOD: Biological Oxygen Demand, TSS: Total Suspended Solids, CO: carbon monoxide, NOx: nitrogen oxides, HC: hydrocarbons, CO2: carbon dioxide
1 “Trips” refers to any trip regardless of distance (including excursions less than 50 miles each way).
2 See Appendix A: Methodology for the derivation of snowmaking resource consumption.
3 Not based on statistically significant survey data.
Page 43
Table 2: Key Outputs By Subsector
Tourism &
Recreation
Total
Skiing
Golfing
Fishing
Hunting
Boating
Waterside Conventions Amusement
Parks
Museums/
Historical
Casino
Gaming
Total for
Subsectors
Participation
Participants
9,500,000
23,000,000
35,000,000
14,000,000
36,000,000
130,000,000
26,000,000
54,000,000
54,000,000
60,000,000
440,000,000
Total Number of Trips1
27,000,000
280,000,000
510,000,000
220,000,000
290,000,000
980,000,000
43,000,000
260,000,000
240,000,000
180,000,000
3,000,000,000
Expenditures (millions $)
T&R Satellite
Accounts
Total Expenditures
452,500
9,900
21,000
25,000
16,000
16,000
46,000
17,000
34,000
62,000
100,000
350,000
Lodging Expenditures
63,366
750
4,200
1,700
430
2,700
16,000
8,000
3,500
6,000
3,400
46,000
Restaurant Expenditures
65,502
320
5,200
4,300
2,100
5,000
29,000
4,200
3,700
4,200
3,200
61,000
Retail Expenditures
53,136
1,900
5,100
7,500
6,500
8,100
1,300 **
1,700
-
-
-
32,000
Water Use (million gallons/year)
Lodging
150,000
2,400
17,000
4,200
1,100
6,500
38,000
19,000
11,000
25,000
11,100
140,000
Restaurant
33,000
410
2,600
2,100
1,000
2,500
14,000
2,100
1,900
2,100
1,600
31,000
Retail
6,500
230
620
920
790
990
160
210
-
-
-
3,900
Activity Specific
59,000
50,000 *
3,500
-
-
2,200
-
360
2,100
1,800
800
59,000
Total Water Use
250,000
52,000
24,000
7,300
2,900
12,000
53,000
22,000
15,000
29,000
13,500
230,000
Wastewater (tons/year)
BOD
Lodging
15,000
200
1,400
420
110
650
3,800
2,000
1,000
2,100
1,000
13,000
Restaurant
21,000
270
1,700
1,400
680
1,600
9,400
1,400
1,200
1,400
1,000
20,000
Retail
340
12
32
48
41
51
8
11
-
-
-
200
Activity Specific
240
-
-
-
-
240
-
-
-
-
-
Total BOD
37,000
480
3,100
1,900
820
2,500
13,000
3,400
2,200
3,500
2,000
33,000
TSS
Lodging
8,700
120
800
240
60
370
2,200
1,100
530
1,200
520
7,100
Restaurant
3,600
45
280
230
110
270
1,600
230
210
230
180
3,400
Retail
270
10
26
39
33
42
7
9
-
-
-
160
Activity Specific
200
-
-
-
-
200
-
-
-
-
-
-
Total TSS
13,000
170
1,100
510
200
880
3,800
1,300
740
1,400
700
10,700
Energy Use (billion Btu/year)
Lodging
190,000
2,500
17,000
5,100
1,300
7,800
46,000
24,000
11,000
26,000
11,000
150,000
Restaurant
36,000
460
2,900
2,400
940
2,700
16,000
2,300
2,100
2,300
1,800
34,000
Retail
16,000
560
1,500
2,300
2,000
2,400
400
520
-
-
-
9,700
Activity Specific
18,000
5,600
-
-
-
-
-
1,900
9,900 **
-
400 **
18,000
Total Energy Use
260,000
9,100
22,000
9,700
4,200
13,000
63,000
28,000
23,000
28,000
13,000
210,000
Transportation Energy Use
(Billion Btu/year)
2,700,000
50,000
46,000
220,000
97,000
120,000
1,100,000
120,000
250,000
190,000
280,000
2,500,000
Results are based on the methodology and limitations described in this report.
1 “Trips” refers to any trip regardless of distance (including excursions less than 50 miles each way).
BOD: Biological Oxygen Demand, TSS: Total Suspended Solids, CO: carbon monoxide, NOx: nitrogen oxides, HC: hydrocarbons, CO2: carbon dioxide
* See Appendix A: Methodology for the derivation of snowmaking resource consumption.
** Not based on statistically significant survey data.
Page 44
Table 2: Key Outputs By Subsector (continued)
Tourism &
Recreation
Total
Skiing
Golfing
Fishing
Hunting
Boating
Waterside Conventions Amusement
Parks
Museums/
Historical
Casino
Gaming
Total for
Subsectors
Municipal Waste Generation
(tons/year)
Lodging
2,800,000
14,000
96,000
77,000
19,000
120,000
700,000
360,000
57,000
150,000
67,000
1,700,000
Restaurant
5,600,000
28,000
440,000
360,000
180,000
422,000
2,500,000
360,000
320,000
350,000
270,000
5,200,000
Retail
410,000
14,000
39,000
58,000
50,000
63,000
10,000
13,000
-
-
-
250,000
Activity Specific
610,000
77,000
-
-
-
180,000
38,000
1,200 **
320,000 **
4,500
-
610,000
Total Municipal Waste Generated
9,400,000
130,000
580,000
498,673
246,665
780,000
3,200,000
730,000
700,000
510,000
337,000
7,700,000
Air Emissions (tons/year)
Hydrocarbons
Lodging
830
11
76
23
5.7
35
210
100
51
110
50
670
Restaurant
96
1.2
7.6
6.2
3.0
7.3
42
6.1
5.5
6.1
4.7
90
Retail
19
0.7
1.9
2.8
2.4
3.0
0.5
0.6
-
-
-
12
Activity Specific
620,000
18 *
4,900
-
-
610,000
-
-
-
-
-
620,000
Transportation
970,000
10,000
15,000
130,000
57,000
60,000
550,000
17,000
49,000
30,000
140,000 **
1,100,000
Total Hydrocarbon Emissions
1,600,000
10,000
20,120
130,000
57,000
670,000
550,000
17,000
49,000
30,000
140,000
1,700,000
CO
Lodging
9,600
130
880
260
66
400
2,400
1,200
590
1,300
580
7,800
Restaurant
1,600
20
130
100
51
120
710
100
92
100
78
1,500
Retail
320
1.6
26
21
10
24
140
21
18
20
16
300
Activity Specific
2,600,000
54 *
260,000
-
-
2,300,000
-
-
-
-
-
2,600,000
Transportation
7,200,000
73,000
110,000
980,000
430,000
450,000
4,100,000
110,000
351,000
210,000
1,100,000 **
8,000,000
Total CO Emissions
9,800,000
73,000
370,000
980,000
430,000
2,760,000
4,100,000
110,000
352,000
210,000
1,100,000
10,600,000
NOx
Lodging
11,000
150
1,000
300
76
470
2,800
1,400
680
1,500
670
9,000
Restaurant
1,300
17
100
87
43
100
590
86
77
85
65
1,300
Retail
330
1.6
26
21
10
25
140
21
19
21
16
300
Activity Specific
48,000
220 *
1,700
-
-
46,000
-
-
-
-
-
48,000
Transportation
530,000
6,000
8,400
68,000
30,000
32,000
290,000
11,000
29,000
19,000
76,000 **
570,000
Total NOx Emissions
590,000
6,400
11,000
68,000
30,000
79,000
290,000
13,000
30,000
21,000
77,000
630,000
CO2 Equivalents
(thousand tons/year)
Lodging
52,000
680
4,700
1,400
350
2,200
13,000
6,500
3,200
7,100
3,100
42,000
Restaurant
9,100
110
720
590
290
690
4,000
580
520
580
440
8,500
Retail
3,500
120
340
500
430
540
88
110
-
-
-
2,100
Activity Specific
14,000
760 *
-
-
-
13,000
-
-
-
-
-
14,000
Transportation
260,000
4,300
4,300
24,000
11,000
13,000
120,000
9,700
21,000
16,000
29,000 **
250,000
Total for CO2 equivalents
340,000
6,000
10,000
26,000
12,000
30,000
137,000
17,000
25,000
24,000
33,000
317,000
Results are based on the methodology and limitations described in this report.
BOD: Biological Oxygen Demand, TSS: Total Suspended Solids, CO: carbon monoxide, NOx: nitrogen oxides, HC: hydrocarbons, CO2: carbon dioxide
* See Appendix A: Methodology for the derivation of snowmaking resource consumption.
** Not based on statistically significant survey data.
Page 45
Figure 1: Total Water Use for Selected Activity Subsectors
-
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
Sk
iin
g
Go
lfin
g
Fi
sh
ing
Hu
nt
ing
Bo
at
ing
W
at
er
sid
e
Co
nv
en
tio
ns
Am
us
em
en
t P
ar
ks
M
us
eu
m
s/H
ist
or
ica
l
Ca
sin
o
Ga
m
ing
Activity Subsector
Million Gallons
Activity Specific
Retail
Restaurant
Lodging
Page 46
Figure 2: Average Water Use Per Selected Activity Subsector
-
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
Golfing
Fishing
Hunting
Boating
Waterside
Conventions
Amusement Parks
Historical
Casinos/Gaming
Activity Subsector
Gallons Water Use
Average Water Use/$1000 Expenditures
Average Water Use/Trip*
Average Water Use/Participant
-
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
Skiing
* ”Trip” refers to any trip regardless of distance (including excursions less than 50 miles each way).
Page 47
Figure 3: Total BOD Generation for Selected Activity Subsectors
-
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
Sk
iin
g
Go
lfin
g
Fis
hin
g
Hu
nti
ng
Bo
ati
ng
W
at
er
sid
e
Co
nv
en
tio
ns
Am
us
em
en
t P
ar
ks
Mu
se
um
s/H
ist
or
ica
l
Ca
sin
o G
am
ing
Activity Subsector
Tons of BOD Generated
Activity Specific
Retail
Restaurant
Lodging
BOD: Biological Oxygen Demand
Page 48
Figure 4: Average 5-day BOD Generation for Selected Activity Subsectors
-
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
Skiing
Golfing
Fishing
Hunting
Boating
Waterside
Conventions
Amusement Parks
Historical
Casinos/Gaming
Activity Subsector
Pounds of BOD
Average BOD/$1000 Expenditures
Average BOD/Trip*
Average BOD/Participant
BOD: Biological Oxygen Demand
* “Trip” refers to any trip regardless of distance (including excursions less than 50 miles each way).
Page 49
Figure 5: Total TSS Generated for Selected Activity Subsectors
-
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
Sk
iin
g
Go
lfin
g
Fis
hin
g
Hu
nti
ng
Bo
ati
ng
W
at
er
sid
e
Co
nv
en
tio
ns
Am
us
em
en
t P
ar
ks
Mu
se
um
s/H
ist
or
ica
l
Ca
sin
o G
am
ing
Activity Subsector
Tons of TSS Generated
Activity Specific
Retail
Restaurant
Lodging
TSS: Total Suspended Solids
Page 50
Figure 6: Average TSS Generation for Selected Activity Subsectors
-
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.10
0.12
0.14
0.16
0.18
Skiing
Golfing
Fishing
Hunting
Boating
Waterside
Conventions
Amusement Parks
Historical
Casinos/Gaming
Activity Subsector
Pounds of TSS
Average TSS/$1000 Expenditures
Average TSS/Trip*
Average TSS/Participant
TSS: Total Suspended Solids
* ”Trip” refers to any trip regardless of distance (including excursions less than 50 miles each way).
Page 51
Figure 7: Total BOD and TSS Generation for Selected Activity Subsectors
-
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
Skiing
Golfing
Fishing
Hunting
Boating
Waterside
Conventions
Amusement Parks
Museums/Historical
Casino Gaming
Activity Subsectors
Tons Generated
Total BOD
Total TSS
BOD: Biological Oxygen Demand
TSS: Total Suspended Solids
Page 52
Figure 8: Total Energy Use for Selected Activity Subsectors
-
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
Sk
iin
g
Go
lfin
g
Fi
sh
ing
Hu
nt
ing
Bo
at
ing
W
at
er
sid
e
Co
nv
en
tio
ns
Am
us
em
en
t P
ar
ks
M
us
eu
m
s/H
ist
or
ica
l
Ca
sin
o
Ga
m
ing
Activity Subsector
Billion Btu
Activity Specific
Retail
Restaurant
Lodging
Page 53
Figure 9: Average Energy Use For Selected Activity Subsectors
-
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
Skiing
Golfing
Fishing
Hunting
Boating
Waterside
Conventions
Amusement Parks
Historical
Casinos/Gaming
Activity Subsector
Million Btu
Average Energy Use/$1000 Expenditures
Average Energy Use/Trip*
Average Energy Use/Participant
* ”Trip” refers to any trip regardless of distance (including excursions of less than 50 miles each way).
Page 54
Figure 10: Total Transportation Energy Use for Selected Activity Subsectors
-
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
Sk
iin
g
Go
lfin
g
Fi
sh
ing
Hu
nt
ing
Bo
at
ing
W
at
er
sid
e
Co
nv
en
tio
ns
Am
us
em
en
t P
ar
ks
M
us
eu
m
s/H
ist
or
ica
l
Ca
sin
o
Ga
m
ing
Activity Subsector
Billion Btu
Page 55
Figure 11: Total Waste Generation for Selected Activity Subsectors
-
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
3,500,000
Sk
iin
g
Go
lfin
g
Fis
hin
g
Hu
nti
ng
Bo
ati
ng
W
at
er
sid
e
Co
nv
en
tio
ns
Am
us
em
en
t P
ar
ks
Mu
se
um
s/H
ist
or
ica
l
Ca
sin
o G
am
ing
Activity Subsector
Tons Generated
Activity Specific
Retail
Restaurant
Lodging
Page 56
Figure 12: Average Waste Generation For Selected Activity Subsectors
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Skiing
Golfing
Fishing
Hunting
Boating
Waterside
Conventions
Amusement Parks
Historical
Casinos/Gaming
Activity Subsector
Pounds
Average Municipal Waste/$1000 Expenditures
Average Municipal Waste/Trip*
* ”Trip” refers to any trip regardless of distance (including excursions of less than 50 miles each way).
Page 57
Figure 13: Total HC Emissions for Selected Activity Subsectors
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
Skiing
Golfing
Fishing
Hunting
Boating
Waterside
Conventions
Amusement Parks
Museums/Historical
Casino Gaming
Activity Subsectors
Tons of HC
Lodging
Restaurant
Retail
Activity Specific
Transportation
HC: Hydrocarbons
Page 58
Figure 14: Total CO Emissions for Selected Activity Subsectors
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
3,500,000
4,000,000
4,500,000
Skiing
Golfing
Fishing
Hunting
Boating
Waterside
Conventions
Amusement Parks
Museums/Historical
Casino Gaming
Activity Subsectors
Tons of CO
Lodging
Restaurant
Retail
Activity Specific
Transportation
CO: Carbon monoxide
Page 59
Figure 15: Total NOx Emissions for Selected Activity Subsectors
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
Skiing
Golfing
Fishing
Hunting
Boating
Waterside
Conventions
Amusement Parks
Museums/Historical
Casino Gaming
Activity Subsectors
Tons of NOx
Lodging
Restaurant
Retail
Activity Specific
Transportation
NOx: Nitrogen Oxides
Page 60
Figure 16: Total CO2 Equivalent Emissions for Selected Activity Subsectors
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
Skiing
Golfing
Fishing
Hunting
Boating
Waterside
Conventions
Amusement Parks
Museums/Historical
Casino Gaming
Activity Subsectors
Thousand Tons of Co2 Equivalents
Lodging
Restaurant
Retail
Activity Specific
Transportation
CO2: Carbon Dioxide
Page 61
Figure 17: Average Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Selected Activity Subsectors
-
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
Skiing
Golfing
Fishing
Hunting
Boating
Waterside
Conventions
Amusement Parks
Historical
Casinos/Gaming
Activity Subsector
Pounds of CO2 Equivalents
Average CO2 Emissions per Participant
Average CO2 Emissions per Trip
CO2: Carbon Dioxide
Page 62
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