1. Valuing adventurous off-road cycling as a tourism product: A case-study of South West England Neil S. Ormerod Centre for Sport, Leisure and Tourism Research, June 8 th 2011 University of Exeter Research Showcase Event

2. 1 South West Case Studentship In collaboration with Paul Hawkins – Project Manager for 1 South West Cycle Adventure, my ESRC CASE Studentship research will investigate the economic value of off-road cycling. 1SW is a partnership originating from a 2006 feasibility study titled: ‘Developing Off-Road Cycling In Woodlands Across the South West’. This report identified a considerable demand for woodland cycling in the South West and concluded that it is an economically significant activity. 1SW aim to cater for this demand by creating an off-road cycling region, through the development of specific off-road cycling facilities.

5. Research Aims Two connected aims drive this project: To develop a dedicated method for better capturing the economic benefit to regional tourism of adventurous off-road cycling facilities To establish the strength of case of this activity as a regional tourism ‘attractor’

6. Research Objectives Identify the current range of economic assessment ‘technologies’ used in tourism and; Assess the relative merits of the extant approaches in the context of off- road cycling; Develop, implement and appraise survey instruments to capture the economic value of off-road cycling in the South West; Produce an estimate of the current economic impact of off-road cycling; Develop guidance notes to inform policy-related research on the economic case for countryside recreation

7. Research Methodology My research aims to develop a dedicated method for better capturing the economic benefit to regional tourism of off-road cycling. No single recognised solution for measuring the economic impact of tourism can be found within the literature. However, the economic benefits of tourism can be measured by either: Quantifying the economic impact of visitor expenditure. Or alternatively, by measuring the economic value of a resource from the user’s perspective.

8. Thank you – any questions? Research presented here was conducted during an ESRC Studentship under its Capacity Building Clusters Award (RES-187-24-0002) in partnership with 1 South West Cycle Adventure. For more information about this project and the work of the Centre for Sport, Leisure and Tourism research, see www.ex.ac.uk/slt/ourresearch/economicimpactofoff-roadbiking/ www.ex.ac.uk/slt/ourresearch/economicimpactofoff-roadbiking/ Neil S. Ormerod, n.s.ormerod@exeter.ac.ukn.s.ormerod@exeter.ac.uk