Published in Birding, Vol.XXV:6, December 1993, pp 415-420

Birding is among the most popular of nonconsumptive wildlife activities, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that by 1991, more than 76 million people were engaged in bird-related recreation (USDI 1993). Payne (1991), in a survey of active members of the Texas Ornithological Society, found that the respondents spent an average of $2,000 annually on birding travel-or what we call avitourism in this paper.

Among the most renowned destinations for avitourists in the U.S. is High Island, Texas. Visited by thousands of birders during a brief season, High Island provided a unique opportunity to quantify birding’s economic impact at a single location. Completed questionnaires were received from 633 respondents, representing approximately 10 percent of the total number of visitors to Houston Audubon Society’s High Island Sanctuaries that season. The typical High Island avitourist was a middle-aged, well-educated, financially successful male. Over 14 percent had incomes over $100,000. Local residents (those residing in the five counties surrounding High Island, including Houston in Harris County) constituted 42.4 percent of High Island’s visitors; 57.6 percent were non-residents from 35 states (including Texas) and five foreign countries.

The local-resident visitor to High Island averaged $46 per trip. Nonresident American tourists estimated a trip expense of $693, and foreign visitors spent an average of $!,881 on their ventures to Texas. The inability of visitors to find overnight accommodations in High Island (which supported one restaurant and one motel) lessened the local economic impact associated with avitourism in the area.

If the respondents to this survey represented only 10 percent of the total estimated Spring 1992 visitorship, and the ratio of local residents to nonresident birders was consistent, then the total economic impact of birders traveling to and staying in the region exceeded $2.5 million. Of this total, $2.4 million was contributed by nonresident avitourists and $120,000 by local residents.

There are caveats to the interpretation of this data. First, the economic impact is not limited to the High Island. Second, their travel-related expenses moderated the economic impact of nonresident avitourists. Third, this projection recognized no expenditures related to land acquisition, site maintenance or facility construction and repair. Fourth, many of the respondents were unsure of their High Island birding expenses. Finally, no attempt was made to apply an economic multiplier to calculate the rollover effect from tourism dollars.

Economic value and impact can be estimated for natural resources such as wildlife sanctuaries and for nonconsumptive wildlife recreations, such as birding. Nonprofit organizations such as Audubon chapters and birding clubs should realize that they are capable of contributing to the economies of their communities through investments in wildlife centers and sanctuaries. As Payne noted (1991), ecotourism is predominately non-urban. In these rural communities, the relatively small sums generated by wildlife sanctuaries can have a substantial economic impact. Communities and businesses that recognize the economic importance of these sites and activities are far more likely to invest in their promotion, preservation, and enhancement. As an example, the Houston Audubon Society and The Nature Conservancy announced in Spring 1993 the formation of the High Island and Gulf Coast Conservation Initiatives. Joining with companies like Phillips Petroleum and Amoco Production Company, and governmental agencies such as the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, this partnership plans to invest more than $1 million in High Island over the next two years and expand the sanctuaries by 150 acres.

The economic benefit of avitourism to local economies has been demonstrated at such geographically diverse locales as Cape May, New Jersey (Kerlinger and Wiedner 1991), Point Pelee, Ontario (Hvenegaard et al. 1988), and the Platte River of Nebraska (Lingle 1991). High Island and other birding locales are not independent of the social and economic fabric of their communities. Avitourism is one method by which the environment does gain a voice. Used wisely, that voice can attract support from community leaders who have traditionally placed greater value on economic development than on environmental preservation.

 

References

 

Hvenegaard, G.T., J.R. Butler, and D.K. Krystofiak. 1998. Economic values of bird watching at Point Pelee Park, Canada. Wildlife Society Bulletin 17: 526-531.

Kerlinger, P. and D.S. Weidner. 1991. The economics of birding at Cape May, New Jersey. In J.A. Kusler, ed. Ecotourism and Resource Conservation. v.1. Second International Symposium: Ecotourism and Resource Conservation. Miami.

Lingle, G.R. 1991. History and economic impact of crane-watching in central Nebraska. Proceedings North American Crane Workshop 6: 25-29.

Payne, R.H. 1991. Potential economic and political impacts of ecotourism: A research not. Texas Journal of Political Studies 13:65-77.

United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1993. 1991 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife Associated Recreation. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior (USDI).