From Trails to Main Street: Connecting Outdoor Recreation and Local Business In the Upper Peninsula (Tommy Thinks of the Economics of Start-up Recreation in Delta County)

(Illustrative Only)

Tommy is a local artist
and gardener. He has
decided to start a 
small business selling
flowers from his and other
farms through custom made
flower pots with 
paintings on them. He
has a flowerpot line for local 
outdoor scenery and
one for funny cartoons. 

Outdoor tourists love to look in
the window, see the process,
buy them. He has been selling
them online and can't 
keep up so he is starting 
to scale his business. Online
sales and exports have risen.
His business contributes
to local tax revenue, 
artists are getting paid 
for their designs
(they get a percentage
of each pot sold
with their designs),
money circulates locally,
and once he scales he might
be able to hire a few
more people contributing
to the lives of others.
He might call it
Pot-Pics Inc.

He has a few thoughts 
on broad based capitalism
that fosters micro, small, 
medium businesses that
can balance with corporations
and lead to increased
wealth for average folks,
rebuild downtowns, and
foster higher quality of life.

Outdoor enthusiasts
are a little bit of free spirits.
A few ideas below
that ultra rich and 
the politicians they 
donate to may not
like....

Adventure Tourism
Rebuilding Downtown
Tourism Experience
Tourist Micro
MultiClusters

 Outdoor recreation is highly important for places like the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. As the release below shows, a portion of Michigan’s economy is tied to outdoor recreation. In the Upper Peninsula—especially in Delta County—there are many outdoor opportunities including cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, golf, hiking trails, bike trails, fishing, and recreational boating. The area is also about an hour from several ski hills, making it an outdoor destination. The Upper Peninsula as a whole attracts visitors who come specifically for these experiences.

To maximize the benefits of outdoor recreation and tourism, it is important to recognize that the economy is not driven only by local residents who enjoy these activities. Tourists who travel to participate in outdoor recreation are also consumers and contribute significantly to the local economy. As shown in the chart referenced in the report, parts of the outdoor recreation economy include arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services, but it also includes manufacturing and retail trade.

One way to think about developing downtowns in tourism-oriented communities is through a cluster approach. Outdoor recreation enhances quality of life and attracts visitors, but it also helps retain residents, attract new industries, and bring in knowledge-based workers. These factors together help strengthen and grow the local economy and make the community a more attractive place to live. It is one component of multiple components that can help a community stay resilient if one industry suffers but other local industries thrive therefore supporting all the industries and the economic and social health of the community (i.e. not being overally reliant on a single industry but enhancing the hedges of different industries to support and grow off of each other. In Theory.)

Manufacturing and micro-manufacturing can play an important role in this ecosystem. Small-scale production helps create export opportunities, generates local wealth, and contributes to branding the area. For example, local businesses might produce custom golf carts, golf clubs, fishing poles, polo mallets, snowshoes, candles, or specialty foods such as fudge. These products involve both a manufacturing component and a retail component, which supports multiple parts of the local economy.

This means tourism is not only about bringing people to the area but also about creating the products and experiences they purchase while they are here. When products are made locally, visitors often enjoy seeing them being produced, such as watching craftspeople work through a storefront window. Encouraging startups and small businesses downtown to engage in micro-manufacturing or craft production can enhance both local life and the visitor experience.

Marketing also plays a role. Affinity marketing recognizes that visitors who come for one activity often have related interests. For example, someone visiting to go fat biking may also need equipment such as helmets or clothing, or they may need bike repair services. Having specialized retail and service businesses that cater to these needs can help capture additional economic activity.

There is also an opportunity to think about behavioral targeting. Visitors who enjoy outdoor recreation often share other interests such as attending theater performances, art shows, live music, breweries, seminars/trade shows, or community events. Communities can design experiences that connect these activities—for example, allowing people to bike around downtown while attending music or cultural events. Policies such as allowing golf carts or ATVs on certain streets may also support this broader approach to enhancing the outdoor recreation and tourism experience.

Overall, outdoor recreation can serve as both a quality-of-life asset and an economic development strategy. Communities that connect recreation with tourism, retail, small-scale manufacturing, and cultural activities can capture greater economic value while strengthening their identity and attractiveness as places to live and visit.

Outdoor Recreation Economic Statistics, U.S. and States, 2024

• The U.S. outdoor recreation economy contributed $696.7 billion to U.S. GDP in 2024, representing about 2.4% of total U.S. GDP.

• The sector generated about $1.3 trillion in total economic output and supported approximately 5.2 million jobs across the United States.

• Outdoor recreation includes three major categories:

  • conventional activities such as bicycling, boating, hiking, hunting, and fishing

  • other activities such as gardening and outdoor events

  • supporting activities such as tourism, travel, construction, and government spending.

• Boating and fishing were the largest conventional outdoor recreation activities in the United States, generating about $38.4 billion in value added.

• Major industries connected to outdoor recreation include arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services, retail trade, and manufacturing.

• In Michigan, outdoor recreation contributed about $15.1 billion to the state economy in 2024, reflecting the importance of activities such as boating, fishing, hunting, and trail recreation to the state’s tourism and manufacturing sectors.

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. (2026). Outdoor recreation economic statistics, U.S. and states, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/news/2026/outdoor-recreation-economic-statistics-us-and-states-2024