For two years, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) partnered with Oregon State University’s Center for the Outdoor Recreation Economy (CORE) to research and assess the TTOR awards and identify and highlight innovative projects through quarterly webinars and newsletters. The NGA Center and CORE also developed a data survey to collect information about the implementation or expected results from all the TTOR projects and sent it to the 185 TTOR project leads via the Qualtrics platform. The intent was to collect economic and impact data resulting from the TTOR awards to date to help identify and assess promising or best practices. The research team also conducted phone interviews of select TTOR awardees to gather additional project details.
Based on the data survey results, phone interviews findings and other factors such as project diversity, the research team identified the following projects as having innovative elements worth profiling in case studies in this report. This report profiles these competitive EDA TTOR awards:
- Skowhegan River Park, Maine.
- Frost Fire Park, North Dakota.
- Hawai‘i Island Trail Stewards Program.
The report also profiles these statewide formula-based TTOR awards: Colorado, Indiana, and West Virginia.
Each of these projects help inform how states, regions, and localities can think about investing in TTOR industries — with an emphasis on outdoor recreation — for the purpose of expanding economies and building economic resilience.
Project Webinars
NGA hosted a series of four webinars to highlight innovative and replicable projects funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Travel Tourism and Outdoor Recreation.
- March 22, 2023 – Increasing Economic Resiliency Of The Travel, Tourism And Outdoor Recreation Sectors
- June 22, 2023 – Innovative Workforce Development Programs For The Travel, Tourism And Outdoor Recreation Sectors
- September 27, 2023 – Advancing Equity in the Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation Sectors
- December 13, 2023 – Leveraging Outdoor Assets In The Travel, Tourism, And Outdoor Recreation Sectors
If you would like more information on this project please contact Sally Rood (SRood@nga.org).
In the News
Economic Development Administration Travel, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation grants in the news
State & Territory Investments
- Delaware State Parks
- Rhode Island State Tourism
- New Jersey State Tourism
- Maryland State Tourism
- Maine State Tourism
- Delaware State Tourism
- Arkansas Trail and Museum Projects
- State Of New Mexico To Accelerate Travel And Tourism Recovery
- American Samoa Travel and Tourism
- Alaska Travel, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation
- Tourism Initiatives in Alaska, California, New Mexico, Ohio, New Hampshire, Alabama and Louisiana
- Utah Office of Tourism
- Nebraska Tourism Grants
- Kansas Tourism Grants
- Iowa Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Grants
- Florida Tourism and Travel Advertising and Marketing Campaigns
Local Investments
- EDA Grant – Quinebaug Valley Rail Trail
- New Castle trail improvements
- Pawtucket Bikeway
- Westchester County Tourism & Film
- The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk
- Recovery of the Tourism Sector in Tishomingo, Oklahoma
- Trail Expansion To Boost Tourism In Santa Fe
- Historical Museum in South Padre Island
- Supporting local tourism in Fredericksburg, Texas
- La Grande’s Liberty Theatre
- Portland Bureau of Transportation Street Plazas
- City of Eugene Parks and Open Space – Suzanne Arlie Park development
- Bisbee Bikeways
- Tourism and outdoor recreation in Valdez
- Bohemia Park Entry Plaza Project
- Willcox Theater and Arts
- Boulder City – Dark Skies Project
- Port Angeles Waterfront Center and Peninsula College
- Long Beach, Washington, Boardwalk Renovation
- Restoration of Guadalupe’s Royal Theater
- Native cultural tourism projects in New York and Alaska
- Galena & Ulysses S. Grant Museum
- Swift County Appleton Area Off-Highway Vehicle Park
- Kokomo Speedway Flooding Infrastructure
- Rockford Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Tourism Planning
- Old World Wisconsin History Museum Guest Services Museum
- Rensselaer, Indiana, Streetscape Improvements
- Kettle Moraine State Forest Trailhead Facility
- Ely, Minnesota, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation
- Trumbull County, Ohio Tourism Development
- Saline County Visitors Center Project
- Lake Mitchell jetty project
- Fort Pierre Tatanka Trail
- Churchill Museum at Westminster College
- Caras Park River Access Project
- 15th St. Railroad Experience Project
- Cedar River Recreation Project
- Grand County Tourism Revitalization Project
- Frost Fire Park Snowmaking Infrastructure
- Cache Valley Nature Center
- Visitor Center in Jacksonville, North Carolina
- Hogansville Royal Theater restoration project
- Renovation of the historic Oil City National Bank
- Extension of the Conway Recreation Path
- Supporting ski lift and snow making capacity at Big Rock
- Cacapon State Park Bike Trail System
- Mylan Park Foundation receives grant for BMX facility
The Outdoor Recreation Economy
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data shows that inflation-adjusted (“real”) GDP for the outdoor recreation economy increased 18.9 percent in 2021 with outdoor recreation providing over 4.5 million jobs. Real gross output – a broader measure of all economic activity generated – for the outdoor recreation economy was even more significant, totaling $862 billion in 2021.
Click on the map below to see the value added by outdoor recreation by state.
Disclaimer: The work presented on this page is being conducted by the National Governors Association using Federal funds under award ED22HDQ3070131 from the Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.
