Beaches Are Undervalued and Underfunded
Photo: Shawn Parkin
According to “The Economic Value of America’s Beaches - a 2018 Update”
“Travel and tourism (T&T) is America’s largest employer and earner of foreign exchange, and beaches are its leading tourist destination.”
“Surveys show that beaches are by far the leading U.S. vacation destination with more day visits than are made to all national and state parks and government lands combined.”
Beaches “return $230 in federal taxes for every $1 the federal government spends on beach nourishment.”
“Foreign countries are increasing T&T infrastructure investments, including beach nourishment, at a faster rate than the U.S. and are grabbing an increasing share of the world market.”
“[T]he federal government spends $2.52 for each day visit to a Corps’ lake… and $12.99 per day visit” related to National Parks. By contrast, “the annual federal contribution to beach nourishment averages about $100 million, yielding a cost per day visit to the federal government of $0.04 (Figure 13). If beach recreational benefits were included in Corps’ projects on at least an equal footing with navigation and recreation associated with flood control, benefit/cost ratios for beach nourishment projects would be large, leading to more U.S. jobs, a decreased trade deficit, and enhanced recreational benefits for Americans.”
Source: Houston, J.R., 2018, The Economic Value of America’s Beaches - A 2018 Update.