INTRODUCTION

 

The aim of this document is to provide information that will increase the understanding of recreation practitioners as it relates to the economic impacts of recreation events. The document reviews the fundamental concepts associated with economic impact analysis and provides a step by step process that will allow recreation practitioners to conduct economic impact assessments of events held in their community. 

This Guide is divided into nine sections. Section one provides an over view of the economic impact process.  Section two relates economic impact analysis to recreation and tourism. The third section deals with determining the scope of an economic impact assessment in terms of identifying the region of study and event visitors. Section four outlines a data collection framework. Section five reviews the elements in estimating total direct expenditures from visitors to an event.  Section six looks at methods of capturing the multiplied effects of visitor expenditures on the local economy. The seventh section relates to conclusions and study limitations. Section eight outlines economic/social benefits benefits/costs that can result from events. Section nine examines common sources of error in economic impact analysis.