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July 15, 2008
11482 views | 32 comments
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Chad Nelsen wants to save your wave by putting a dollar amount on your surf experience.
While this may sound a bit opportunistic considering the mysticism-over-money mentality of the average surfer, Nelsen is one of the good guys.
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These studies found that surfing's economic value and impact on the region was in the millions, if not tens of millions in some cases. In a study presented at The Coastal Society conference during the beginning of July, Nelsen's findings illustrated that the economic impact of surfing on the City of San Clemente was in the $8 to $12 million-dollar range and that surfing's economic value in the same region was in the range of $10 to $55 million dollars. Think Trestles ought not be saved? The small business owners in San Clemente might disagree. So, we thought it appropriate to drop a little knowledge on y'all - let Chad Nelsen school you a bit on the money side of surfing and just how important a variable like surfing is in coastal market economies. What is the general operating principle behind Surf Economics? There is a lot of research on beach use by your typical beachgoer that is used to support coastal management decision-making but no information on surfers and surfing. It is assumed that those studies capture surfers and surfing, but we know that surfers are different than other beachgoers. We use different beaches at different times and for different reasons. Surfing and surfers are also more sensitive to changes in the environment and to pollution. So, the basic idea behind surfing economics is to raise awareness about the importance of surfing as a coastal recreation that should be considered when coastal management decisions are made. How do we change this? We do the research and publish the results in peer-reviewed academic journals that coastal decision makers read. We present our results at conferences like we just did last week at The Coastal Society conference and get the word out. Why should the average surfer care about the economics of surfing? How is it relevant to their everyday surf experience? This research will change the public perception of surfers for the better and also because it will help legitimize our concerns about coastal development, beach access and water quality. Just look at all the spots listed as threatened by Save the Waves. Surf economics provides another tool to help protect surfing areas. We're so lucky to have the gift of surfing and to have free access to this amazing resource -- and understanding the economic value of that will help us keep it that way. "The basic idea behind surfing economics is to raise awareness about the importance of surfing as a coastal recreation that should be considered when coastal management decisions are made."
-- Chad Nelson, Surfrider Foundation Environmental Program Director
For those of us who aren't so savvy when it comes to economic jargon and theory, could you explain the 'Travel Cost Method' and how it's used to determine the economic value of surfing? The basic premise behind the Travel Cost Method is that visitors who live farther away from a surf spot pay a higher travel cost and take fewer trips than visitors who live closer who can afford to visit more often. By modeling travel costs and the number of trips, we can develop a demand function for recreational use and estimate an average value that you, as a surfer, put on a visit to a surf spot. Economic theory presumes that if you spend 20 bucks on gas and three hours of your free time getting to a surf spot, that the visit is worth something more than that time and financial commitment. Why isolate surfers from other recreational beachgoers? Surfers are being missed in standard recreational beach use studies. One study suggests that surfers in Southern California make up 10-20% of beach visits and those visits are likely unaccounted for. Also, the value of a day of surfing is higher than an average beach day because of specialized use. The fact that people are willing to drive many miles to surf a place like Trestles or Rincon or Hatteras is a demonstration of the travel cost method at work. The fact that we go the extra mile, so to speak, for a great surf session shows we value it more than a beachgoer who is less likely to be so selective and drive the extra distance. Surfers are also much more avid that other beachgoers, meaning that we tend to go to the beach more than regular beachgoers. That avidity factors into the annual value of a surfing site -- making it possible for a relatively small number of surfers, as compared to beachgoers, to accumulate many visits over a year. Where is the link between surfers and the local or regional economy? Surf spots attract surfers to towns where they then spend money, especially places with high-quality surf spots. In my research on Trestles I found that over 83% of the folks I surveyed who surfed Trestles lived outside of San Clemente. Those people spent on average about $40 in the City of San Clemente every time they visited on things like food, wax, and sunscreen. How many of those people would come spend money in San Clemente if Trestles wasn't there or if the wave was marginalized or polluted? Probably not too many -- instead they would spend their money in some other surf town like Oceanside or Huntington. That would be an economic hit to the City of San Clemente. Did you present your findings at the California Coastal Commission hearing in Del Mar? Results from a paper I published in the journal Shore & Beach entitled, "A Socioeconomic Study of Surfers at Trestles Beach" were used in the California Coastal Commission's analysis of the permit. That paper described the visitation patterns and economic impacts of surfers who visit Trestles. It clearly refuted the TCA's claims that those opposed to the Toll Road wanted to keep Trestles private and that the road would provide needed public access to the beach. By looking at where the surfers came from to visit Trestles, everywhere from south San Diego to the Inland Empire to Santa Barbara and the fact that their are over 360,000 visits each year, it's clear that Trestles is not "private" and that their isn't any limitation to access. What are the long-term goals of exploring the economics of surfing, more specifically, what are you hoping to change regarding coastal zone planning and management? My long-term goals are to change the image of surfers in the eyes of coastal zone managers and elected officials and to create a real appreciation for the importance and economic benefits of caring for surfing areas. Surfing is clearly used as a marketing tool for coastal tourism and it is the responsibility of those benefiting from that marketing to treat surfing with respect and to understand how their decisions will affect the economic engine that surfing and surfing's image provides. SURFLINE HOME PAGE MORE SURF NEWS |
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Comments: (32) Add Your Comment
responce: billybob 10/16/2008 12:28 AM
I drive a fuel efficient car, which costs roughly $20 to get there and back(100 miles round trip) $5 on breakfast on a local gas station and $5 on lunch for the trip home. Someone with a larger car could easily spend $40. So now you do know someone who does spend that much. Hope your $40 towards Ethiopian families is serving them well...
billybob 10/13/2008 10:50 PM
all i want to know is who spends 40 bucks on food and wax. with 40 bucks i could buy enuff food to feed ehiopia for a decade and more wax than i could use in my lifetime....
kiwimatt 07/20/2008 12:17 AM
what i would like to know is, how come there is only one guy out!
am 07/18/2008 09:07 PM
I live in a small gulf coast town on the west coast of florida called venice. a few years back our town decided to do a "beach restoration" and pull all the sand from the break and put it on the beach. now all the sand has washed away and our break is slowly coming back. being located next to a jetty it is one of the better surf destinations on the west coast of fl in the winterand the ONLY venue for ESA west coast contests. maybe surf economics could help us have our break fully restored/improv
Jr 07/18/2008 11:26 AM
To SR if you build a road there the break will change and while it may not suck completely it will definately not be as good. This reduction in quality will chase off people who travel for the sole purpose of surfing that particular break. It is unlikely that more people will show.
To KB most it is not as if you have never ever gone anywhere else to surf. It's people like you who make surfing less fun.
SF 07/17/2008 10:03 AM
To KB's comment about 83% of the people are out of towners and he would like to Lobby someone to change that. Last I checked San Clemente is part of America and therefore free to all Citezens to come and enjoy. It is just another town. You shoulkd be thankful people come there and spend money. I lived right on the beach for 12 years. Did not bother me if people came to use it, that is why it is called a "Public Beach". They paid for it with their taxes, just as much as I did.
SR 07/17/2008 09:52 AM
Chad is acutally making a stronger point for Development in coastal towns. Take Trestles and San Clemente. If 83% of the Surfers are from outside San Clemente, then building another road to get there will make it easier for more people to come,on a more frequent basis, therefore spend more money and more often. Why is that a bad thing? Last time I checked, we live in a Capitalist economy. The goal is to make money. Besides San Clemente is a dump and needs a face lift. It needs more money.
Rooster 07/16/2008 11:51 PM
Everyone has everything backwards. Does anyone really know what they are talking about? It sounds like a bunch of 3rd graders arguing politics.
Ravi 07/16/2008 01:07 PM
Hey, so is the basic point of this work that surfers be looked at as an source of income for coastal towns? if so, couldn't this have a detrimental effect on beaches as well, attracting more "consumers" with accelerated economic schemes, especially in developing countries? Especially since a lot of sandy beaches in southerncalifornia were created, and not naturally sandy? wouldn't that also become more intensified?
Tom 07/16/2008 07:54 AM
How can these theories be put to use in creating artificial surfing reefs in on the east coast, New Jersey is my place if interest. Wouldn't it make sense that a quality artificial reef/wave would extend the beach season (here the typical season is June to September, but we know hurricane season lasts into Nov) in a sense and add value to the town that catered to that reefs creation? Not ot mention reef creation protects property and creates a safe swim zone inside the reef.
sasquatch de santa cruz 07/15/2008 07:45 PM
Surfrider needs a new approach like this to confront the development interests. It sounds like NOAA, DFG and USFWS have rolled over (again), so attacking this issue on cost-benefit basis is a good idea. Heck, many surfers (myself included) have organized their whole lives to live near quality surf (which means that's where all our dough goes too).
KB 07/15/2008 05:10 PM
I couldnt get past the caption under the photo of Lowers.... Damn! 83% of the people in the water with me are out-of-towners? What political body can I lobby to change that?
...from another mother 07/15/2008 04:31 PM
"...change the image of surfers in the eyes of coastal zone managers and elected officials and to create a real appreciation for the importance and economic benefits of caring for surfing areas. Surfing is clearly used as a marketing tool for coastal tourism and it is the responsibility of those benefiting from that marketing to treat surfing with respect and to understand how their decisions will affect the economic engine that surfing and surfing's image provides. "
preach on brother...
Rodney Williams 07/15/2008 03:05 PM
Good on ya Chad and Surfrider!
Now if we could persuade the politico's to build artificial reefs and stimulate local economies around them. That would be great. This helps a lot to that end.
Flyinraptr 07/15/2008 01:08 PM
View All Comments (32 comments)
Excellent work by Chad Nelson and the folks at Surfrider. Hopefully, this information will help enlist the support of local businesses that profit from the Surf Economy in supporting the cause to save Trestles and other surf spots.
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