Photo: Kyle Bray/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Massachusetts has the fastest growing outdoor recreation economy in the nation, according to a report from Business Facilities.
The Bay State outranked Hawaii, Alaska, Nevada, Maryland, Georgia, Nebraska, New York, New Jersey, Arizona, Tennessee, and Colorado to secure the top spot.
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The report uses the most recent data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce, which said the national outdoor recreation economy generated $1.1 trillion dollars in economic output.
"Massachusetts is home to over 2,360 outdoor recreation businesses from fishing-hunting businesses to bike shops to outdoor retailers,” Massachusetts Office of Outdoor Recreation Director Paul Jahnige said in a press release. "At the Office of Outdoor Recreation, we are working to strengthen this alliance of businesses and further build a strong foundation for new outdoor recreation innovation."
One of those businesses is TreeTop Adventures, a zip-line and climbing park in Canton. Manager Will believes Massachusetts's robust outdoor recreation economy is because the state has a lot of variety in a small area.
"Everything in Massachusetts is kinda, like, tightly packed and you can go to the ocean, to the mountains," Will told WBZ NewsRadio Friday. "You can do pretty much anything in a day. You can do two or three different outdoor recreation things all within one day, which is pretty unique."
Will also credits Massachusetts getting all four seasons.
"It’s a unique thing to have all the seasons and then such accessibility to do skiing and biking and surfing, all within usually an hour’s drive from where you live," Will said.
WBZ's Kyle Bray (@KyleBrayWBZ) reports.