New independent economic modelling released today shows that nature-based outdoor activities add $6.2 billion per year to Victoria’s economy, supporting 71,000 jobs, or 2% of Victoria’s total workforce.
These activities include nature-based tourism, camps and outdoor education, and a full range of outdoor recreational activities, such as fishing, four-wheel driving, bushwalking, canoeing, birdwatching, beach activities and many others.
The analysis, commissioned by Sport and Recreation Victoria and Outdoors Victoria, is the first of its kind for Victoria.
The report’s authors, Marsden Jacob Associates, note “Victoria’s nature based outdoors sector makes a significant contribution to our economy and to individual wellbeing in Victoria. It can be seen, with a bit of imagination, as the 300-pound wombat in the room: a sector that makes a significant economic impact in Victoria that until now has largely been out of the public policy discourse.”
Chuck Berger, Outdoors Victoria CEO, said “Victoria has a great reputation as an outdoor-oriented society, but it hasn’t been clearly understood until now just how essential the outdoors is for our economy. To put this in perspective, outdoor activities account for four times as many jobs in Victoria as the mining sector, and nearly half as much as the entire financial services industry.”
The report also examined the importance of outdoors and nature-based activities for Victoria’s 11 tourism campaign regions, with the following results:
|
Tourism campaign region |
Gross value add ($ million) |
Employment (FTE) |
|
|
|
|
|
Daylesford and Macedon Ranges |
100 |
1,000 |
|
Gippsland |
900 |
11,200 |
|
Goldfields |
200 |
1,200 |
|
Grampians |
200 |
2,000 |
|
Great Ocean Road |
1,100 |
12,600 |
|
High Country |
1,100 |
13,200 |
|
Melbourne |
1,000 |
10,000 |
|
Murray |
700 |
8,500 |
|
Mornington Peninsula |
400 |
4,000 |
|
Phillip Island |
400 |
4,800 |
|
Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges |
100 |
1,100 |
Download a copy of the full report
For further comment, contact:
Chuck Berger, CEO, Outdoors Victoria – 0417 447599 / Charles.berger@outdoorsvictoria.org.au