National Transportation Library Section 508 and Accessibility Compliance The National Transportation Library (NTL) both links to and collects electronic documents in a variety of formats from a variety of sources. The NTL makes every effort to ensure that the documents it collects are accessible to all persons in accordance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 (29 USC 794d), however, the NTL, as a library and digital repository, collects documents it does not create, and is not responsible for the content or form of documents created by third parties. Since June 21, 2001, all electronic documents developed, procured, maintained or used by the federal government are required to comply with the requirements of Section 508. If you encounter problems when accessing our collection, please let us know by writing to [email protected] or by contacting us at (800) 853- 1351. Telephone assistance is available 9AM to 6:30PM Eastern Time, 5 days a week (except Federal holidays). We will attempt to provide the information you need or, if possible, to help you obtain the information in an alternate format. Additionally, the NTL staff can provide assistance by reading documents, facilitate access to specialists with further technical information, and when requested, submit the documents or parts of documents for further conversion. Document Transcriptions In an effort to preserve and provide access to older documents, the NTL has chosen to selectively transcribe printed documents into electronic format. This has been achieved by making an OCR (optical character recognition) scan of a printed copy. Transcriptions have been proofed and compared to the originals, but these are NOT exact copies of the official, final documents. Variations in fonts, line spacing, and other typographical elements will differ from the original. All transcribed documents are noted as "Not a True Copy." The NTL Web site provides access to a graphical representation of certain documents. Thus, if you have any questions or comments regarding our transcription of a document’s text, please contact the NTL at [email protected]. If you have any comment regarding the content of a document, please contact the author and/or the original publisher. Word Searchable Version not a True Copy Cover photo: View of Greenbrier Lake from Annapolis Rocks. Photo by Michael Warren, courtesy Appalachian Trail Conference. Word Searchable Version not a True Copy The Economic Impacts and Uses of Long-Distance Trails Featuring a Case Study of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail March 1998 By Roger L. Moore, Ph.D., and Kelly Barthlow Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management North Carolina State University Raleigh, N.C. Prepared for United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Word Searchable Version not a True Copy Word Searchable Version not a True Copy Table of Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................... vii Acknowledgments ....................................................................... ix Introduction ............................................................................. 1 Part 1. Conducting a Long-Distance Trail Study Using the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail as a Model ............................................ 3 Planning for the Sampling .................................................................. 5 Sample Sites 6, Sample Sizes 10, Data Collection 12, Data Analysis 13 Reporting the Findings .................................................................... 15 User Characteristics 15, Characteristics of Visit 15, Site Experience 18, Trail Experience 21, Economic Impact 25 Interpreting the Results ................................................................... 31 User Characteristics 31, Characteristics of Visit 31, Site Experience 32, Trail Experience 33, Economic Impact 34, Results Compared by Site 35 Taking Action .......................................................................... 37 Message for Managers 37, Further Research 39, Conclusions 40 Part 2. Analysis of Current Literature ..................................................... 41 Economic Impact Studies .................................................................. 43 Benefits of Trails Generally 45, Impacts of Long-Distance Trails 47, Economic Impacts of Other Trails 49, Forecasting Economic Impacts 55, Effects on Property Value 57, Summary Tables 59, Conclusions 63 Measuring Trail Use ..................................................................... 65 Information on Use and Users 65, Techniques for Estimating Trail Use 66, Conclusions 68 Measuring Economic Impacts .............................................................. 69 Planning the Study 69, Defining the Local Impact Area 71, Data Gathering Options 71, Using Multipliers 72, Conclusions 74 Appendices A. On-site Questionnaire .................................................................. 76 B. Mail-in Questionnaire .................................................................. 79 C. Results Compared by Site ............................................................... 92 D. Contact Persons ...................................................................... 108 E. Visitor Comments .................................................................... 110 Bibliographic References ............................................................... 121 Index ................................................................................ 127 iii Word Searchable Version not a True Copy List of Figures 1. Map of Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail ...................................... 4 2. Visitor Age ....................................................................... 15 3. Education Level ................................................................... 16 4. Annual Household Income ........................................................... 17 5. User Groups ...................................................................... 17 6. Group Size ....................................................................... 17 7. Nature of Visit .................................................................... 18 8. Reason for Trip ................................................................... 18 9. Nights Away From Home ........................................................... 19 10. Lodging Used ..................................................................... 19 11. Miles Traveled .................................................................... 19 12. Length of Stay .................................................................... 19 13. How Learned of Site ............................................................... 20 14. Repeat Visits ..................................................................... 22 15. Enjoyed Visit ..................................................................... 23 16. Number of Sites Visited ............................................................. 23 17. Number of Sites Ever Visited ........................................................ 23 18. Interest in More Sites ............................................................... 24 19. Use of Off-Road Trail Segments ...................................................... 24 20. Interest in Off-Road Trail Segments ................................................... 24 21. Average Expenditures/Person/ Day .................................................... 26 22. Average Expenditures/Person/Day by Outside Visitors .................................... 27 List of Tables 1. Sample Sizes and Response Rates ..................................................... 13 2. U.S. Visitors ...................................................................... 16 3. International Visitors ............................................................... 16 4. Reasons for Visiting Site ............................................................ 21 5. Best Liked Features ................................................................ 21 6. Least Liked Features ............................................................... 22 7. Average Expenditures/Person/Day .................................................... 25 iv Word Searchable Version not a True Copy 8. Estimated Average Expenditures by Visitors in Trail Corridor .............................. 27 9. Total Economic Impact of Overmountain Victory Trail Sites ............................... 29 10. Economic Impact Studies of Trails and Trail Activities .................................... 60 10a. Forecasts of Economic Impacts Related to Proposed Trails ................................ 62 Tables 11–38, Appendix C, compare the survey results by individual sites. 11. Visitor Gender .................................................................... 94 12. Visitor Age ....................................................................... 94 13. Education Level ................................................................... 95 14. Annual Household Income ........................................................... 95 15. U.S. Visitors ...................................................................... 96 16. International Visitors ............................................................... 96 17. User Groups ...................................................................... 97 18. Group Size ....................................................................... 97 19. Nature of Visit ...................................................................