This document summarizes research on the economic impact of surfing in the United States. It finds that there are approximately 3.1 million surfers in the US who take a total of 76 million surfing visits per year. Each visit generates between $25-66 in expenditures. As a result, surfing has an estimated annual economic impact of $2-5 billion per year in the US. The document also provides details on the demographics and behaviors of surfers based on an online survey of over 5,000 surfers, finding most are experienced, middle-aged men who surf 2.5 hours at a time around 108 times per year.

1. Highly Marketed but Undervalued:
An economic profile of US surfers
Chad Nelsen
Surfrider Foundation USA

4. California Beaches:
17.8 million visits
$15 billion/year
(Source: Pendleton et al. 2011, King, 1999)

6. Solana Beach, CA Beach Use
(Source: CIC Research, July 2009)

8. Surfrider / Surf-First Study
Who: 5,360 surfers
What: Surf behavior / demographics
Where: Internet-based opt in survey
When: November 2008 -September 2009
Why: 1st US characterization of surfers
Limitation: This is a non-probabilistic method of data collection and is not random so the results
cannot be extrapolated to the larger surfing population

9. Surf Behavior
Parameter Median
Experience 16 years
Number of boards 4
Arrival time 8:15 AM
Duration 2.5 hours
Distance Travelled 10 miles
Annual visits 108

10. Surfer Demographics
Parameter Median
Age 34 year
Education 62% ≥ college
Household income $75,000 annual
Employment 67% fully employed
Expenditure $66/visit*
*Average

11. US Surfer Economics
Surfers 3.1 million
Visits / year 76 million
Expenditures $25-66 / visit
Economic Impact $2-5 billion / year
Sources: NSRE 2001, Hanneman 2004

13. More..
US Surf econ study: http://bit.ly/us_surfecon
Coastal Blog:
surfrider.org/coastal-blog/c/surf-protection
Chad Nelsen
cnelsen@surfrider.org
twitter: chadenelsen

14. Questions