Economic Impact of Off-highway Vehicle Recreation on the State of Arizona (2016-2018)

This study is in progress and is funded by Arizona State Parks. Arizona offers unique opportunities for motorized recreation.  It has abundant natural resources appropriate for off-highway motorized vehicle (OHV) recreation.  It is one of the most popular and growing recreation activities in Arizona and takes place in public, state, and private lands. Examples of OHV include ATVs, UTVs, Side by Sides, RZRs, ROVs, motorcycles, mopeds and snowmobiles.  Off-Highway Vehicle trail is a multiple use path open to off-highway vehicles used for recreational purpose. OHV trails are managed by federal, state, local and/or tribal agencies as well as private organizations. One of the purposes of the OHV project is to determine travel and spending behavior of OHV recreationists in Arizona. The aim is to provide a comprehensive view of visitor markets and their economic impact in the gateway regions and the state as a whole. Appropriate study areas have been mapped to compute economic impact of OHV non-local visitor and retained resident expenditures. Each OHV site has its distinct set of characteristics and location. This study uses a 50-mile radius to map gateway regions for each selected OHV trail. The second main purpose is to examine the direct, indirect and induced economic effects of the OHV visitor expenditures in the gateway region of each selected trail and for the whole state.