What is the Outdoor Recreation Economy?
The outdoor recreation economy (ORE) is a widely varied collection of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations that offer goods and/or services to the public. During 2022, the Bureau of Economic Analysis measure the ORE at $563.7 billion, or 2.2% of US Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The ORE includes massive participants such as Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) and Academy Sports and Outdoors (Ticker: ASO). At the other end of the size spectrum, the ORE also includes independent retailers, outdoor guides, Software as a Service sellers, and many other types of Small and Medium Sized (SMB) businesses.
The ORE includes a wide variety of industries and merchants. The following list of NAICS codes are many of the types of companies that will participate in the outdoor recreation economy. Note that many of these NAICS are often found participating in other markets.
Following a large increase in outdoor participation during the COVID pandemic, participation rates during 2023 are down. According to the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), the US outdoor recreation participant base grew to a record of 168.1 million during 2022. Despite the record size of the participant base, the average outings per participant was down to 70.5 during 2022. The declining participation rate is an opportunity and a challenge for outdoor recreation entrepreneurs.
If you are an entrepreneur working in the outdoor recreation space and need assistance with your bookkeeping and/or financial management, reach out.