Expanding Coastal Tourism and Recreation
challenges | opportunities | links
last update: April 18, 2002

Travel and tourism is currently the world’s largest industry. Tourism and recreation is America’s largest employer and is the second-largest contributor to the U.S. gross domestic product, with 85% of the tourism revenues in the U.S. earned by coastal states. Studies have shown that beaches are America’s most popular tourist destination. Similarly, travel and tourism in coastal Canada is a thriving industry and continues to grow each year. As many areas of the Cascadia region struggle with declining resource-based economies, tourism and recreation becomes more important for local economies, and tourism and recreation is one of the major factors currently shaping coastal development in the Cascadia Region.

Potential Challenges Associated with Coastal Tourism and Recreation

• Impacts on upland, nearshore, and ocean environments, both short term from construction associated with tourism and recreation, and long term from ongoing activities including:

• Increased riverine and nearshore turbidity
• Increased runoff from land clearing activities
• Accidental or intentional discharges of oils, fuels, etc.
• Careless disposal of trash and debris
• Indirect and direct adverse impacts on wildlife
• Hardening of the shoreline
• Beach erosion from development that restricts sand flow to and along the coast

• Conflicts among different users (between birdwatchers and jetskiers, for example)
• Conflicts between recreational activities and commercial operations
• Displacement of traditional users/uses
• Other social impacts on local communities
• Visual impacts

Many coastal areas in the Cascadia region are faced with the challenge of supporting and increasing sustainable coastal tourism and recreation – socially sustainable, economically sustainable, and environmentally sustainable. Contributing to the difficulty of meeting sustainable tourism and recreation goals is the traditional separation of coastal management agencies from tourism/recreation marketing and promotion agencies. Furthermore, there is a lack of data and information on the magnitude and nature of social, economic and environmental impacts of tourism and recreation on the coastal zone, as well as a lack of financial and technical resources available to promote and implement sustainable tourism and recreation.

• Extremely important revenue generator - can offer economic alternatives to coastal areas with declining resource extraction-based economies.
• Can foster increased support for social, environmental and cultural values which in turn help maintain and increase favorable conditions to support tourism and recreation. For example, public access to coastal areas allows the public to discover, experience and appreciate coastal natural resources and can then foster public support for resource protection, including habitat acquisition and restoration.
• Creates opportunities for education and outreach

Specific components of sustainable tourism and recreation may include: appropriate siting and design of tourism and recreation infrastructure; retention of local economic benefits of coastal tourism and recreation; educational and docent programs to teach users how to minimize impact on environment; public water safety and training programs; clean air and water programs; beach restoration efforts; waste management efforts; policies on coastal wildlife and habitat protection (including siting, design and management strategies); and funding for facilities operations and maintenance and safety programs.

The Cascadia Region offers many interesting and inspiring examples of sustainable tourism and recreation programs.

Links for more information

Background Information on Coastal Tourism and Recreation

• 1998 Year of the Ocean, coastal tourism and recreation issue paper http://www.yoto98.noaa.gov/yoto/meeting
  /tour_rec_316.html
• California’s Ocean Resources: An Agenda for The Future – Coastal Tourism and Recreation Chapter http://ceres.ca.gov/cra/ocean/97Agenda/
  Chap5Tourism.html
• Whale Watching 2000: Worldwide Tourism Numbers, Expenditures, and Expanding Socioeconomic Benefits (International Fund for Animal Welfare) http://www.ifaw.org/press/whalewatching
  2000.html
• Oregon SeaGrant’s Coastal Tourism and Recreation Pages http://seagrant.orst.edu/crt/

Specific Programs, Initiatives in the Cascadia Region

• Sound Tourism, Sound Environment (People for Puget Sound)
  http://www.pugetsound.org/tourism/
  default.html
• Vision and Mission, Sustainable Tourism (Canadian Tourism Industry)
  http://www.canadatourism.com/en/ctc/
  partner_centre/about/vision_mission.html
• Oceans Blue Foundation
  http://www.oceansblue.org/
• Oregon’s Rocky Shore Management Strategy
  http://www.lcd.state.or.us/coast/offshore/
  otsp_3-a.pdf
• Public Access and Wildlife Compatibility Project (San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission)
  http://www.bcdc.ca.gov/inside/planning/
  reports/plan_reports.htm
• Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program - California, Hawaii, Nevada (National Park Service)
  http://www.nps.gov/pwro/rtca/whoare.htm
• Community Planning Workshop Recreation and Tourism Project Abstracts (University of Oregon)
  http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~cpw/abstracts/
  protoris.html

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