A methodology for the estimation of the economic impact of Outdoor Recreation in Northern Ireland Chris Gratton Themis Kokolakakis Sheffield Hallam University

General Information Research funded by SNI in two parts: methodology and evaluation. Outdoor Recreation is an integral factor of the sport industry in Northern Ireland, closely associated with participation at grass root level and tourism. In Northern Ireland sport overall generates 17.9 thousand jobs (2008), and £688m consumer spending. Golf and hunting are excluded from the research.

Definition 'Outdoor Recreation encompasses all sport and physical recreation that takes place in the natural environment whether on land, water or air. On land it includes but is not restricted to venues such as forests and woodlands, uplands and open land, caves, beaches and urban parks but also includes activities that take place on trails. In water it can include coastal waters, lakes and rivers and can be on or under the water' ( oors) oors

Definition of outdoor activities (Activity tourism action plan) LAND o Adventure Racing o Archery o Caving o Clay Pigeon Shooting o Climbing o Coasteering & Bouldering o Cycling o Fell Running o Horse Riding o Hover crafting o Kite Buggying o Land Buggying o Mountain Boarding o Mountain biking o Orienteering o Paintballing & Combat o Walking o Zorbing WATER o Boat Charter & Cruising o Boat Trips o Canoeing o Diving o Fishing o Jet Skiing o Kite Surfing o Sailing o Surfing o Waterski & Wakeboard o Windsurfing AIR o Gliding o Hang-gliding & Paragliding o Microlight Flying o Model Flying o Skydiving & Parachuting

Impact indicators Most UK and European studies on sport economic impact use one or more of three indicators: Consumer spending on Outdoor Recreation. Employment related to chosen sports activities. Generated Gross Value Added. Both consumer spending and employment may have a direct element, for example spending on bicycles and associated employment, and an indirect, for example accommodation expenditure during an Outdoor Recreation holiday.

Accomodation We restrict spending to accommodation directly linked to an outdoor activity Camping Cycling holiday Outdoor Centre accommodation Fishing holiday accommodation.

National Income Accounting method Seven Sectors: Consumers (e.g. spending on outdoors footwear) Commercial Outdoor Recreation (OR) (e.g. bicycle retailers, publications) Commercial non-OR: (e.g. construction, sponsorship of a sailing club) Voluntary sector (non-profit organisations) Local Government Central Government Outside N.I. sector ('exports')

Non-profit organisations Amateur clubs, run by participants (210 in 2008) Outdoor Centres County Parks OR related Charities National Trust

Gross Value Added OR- related GVA is the most comprehensive statistic of economic value. Designed to avoid double counting We measure it as the sum of wages and profit surplus in the Outdoor Recreation sector, adjusted for the inclusion of value contributed from Lottery projects. From the wage element OR-RELATED EMPLOYMENT is calculated (if not directly available)

Gross Value Added

Mapping In depth knowledge of existing OR facilities and operators Number of Clubs: 210 Number of OR venues: 567 Outdoor Centres: 139 OR retailers: 35, (e.g. Cotswold Outdoor) Activity specific retailers (other than fishing): 210 Fishing retailers: 57 OR-related charity organisations: 230 Headquarters of major commercial organisations: 1 (Reaction Cycles)

Commercial Data 2011 data can be found from two sources: a) Companies House (all Limited companies) b)FAME database In most companies profitability can be deducted from the information provided. In N.I. only four OR companies have deposited a full set of accounts (including turnover, wages and employment)

Case Study: Reaction Cycles Ltd Turnover: £136.4m Staff Cost: £9.2m Profit: £7.4m Gross margin: 32.2% Taxation: £2.6m Employment : 465 people GVA (all OR-related): £17m Exports outside EU: 39% of turnover

Some consumer spending results OR-clothing: £18m OR-footwear: £4m Outdoor accessories: £2m Fishing equipment: £4m Water sports equipment: £0.5m Bicycles (spending within NI): £25m Boats: £14m Publications: £1m

Outdoor recreation clubs Club Survey (2008) Income per club: £25,000 Income from membership: £13,000 Total expenses per club: £24,000 Membership: 120 Volunteers per club: 28 Employees per club: 0.5 The sector has been surveyed for the purpose of this research, results not yet finalised