Valuing adventurous off-road cycling
as a tourism product:
A case-study of South West England
Neil S. Ormerod
Centre for Sport, Leisure and Tourism Research, April 23rd 2012
University of Exeter Research Showcase Event, London
1 South West Case Studentship
•
Collaboration between University of Exeter and 1 South
West Cycle Adventure to research the economic value of
off-road cycling
•
1SW is developing a number of off-road cycling facilities
across the South West to create an off-road cycling
region
•
1SW is funded by Sport England and the Rural
Development Programme for England Sustainable
Tourism Programme
•
1SW originated from a 2006 feasibility study: ‘Developing
Off-Road Cycling in Woodlands Across the South West’
•
This report concluded that off-road cycling in the South
West is an economically significant activity
1 South West CASE Studentship
Purpose: To investigate the economic value of offroad cycling.
Project Aims
To develop a dedicated method for better
capturing the economic benefit to regional
tourism of adventurous off-road cycling facilities
To establish the strength of case of this activity as
a regional tourism ‘attractor’
Research Objectives
Identify the current range of economic assessment ‘technologies’
used in tourism analysis
Assess the relative merits of the extant approaches in the context
of off-road cycling
Develop, implement and appraise survey instruments to capture
the economic value of off-road cycling in the South West
Produce an estimate of the current economic impact of off-road
cycling
Develop guidance notes to inform policy-related research on the
economic case for countryside recreation
Literature Review Summary
• No single recognised solution for measuring the economic impact of
tourism
• However, the economic benefits of tourism can be measured by either:
- Quantifying the economic impact of visitor expenditure
- Or alternatively, by measuring the economic value of a resource from the
user’s perspective
• A knowledge gap can be identified within the literature between
understanding the value tourists place on destinations and the economic
impact of their activity whilst they are there
• This study has adopted a mixed method approach to investigate the
interrelationship between economic value and economic impact
Methodology Overview
• Mixed method approach using quantitative and qualitative methods
1. Questionnaire Survey:
– Large-scale on-site questionnaire survey of off-road cyclists (n = 500)
– Sampling strategy developed to capture daily, weekly, and seasonal usage
patterns
– Questionnaire successfully piloted at the Forest of Dean, November 2011
– Main survey commenced in January 2012 at Haldon Forest Park, Exeter
2. Qualitative Interviews:
– In-depth interviews with respondents recruited through questionnaire survey
– Interviews to follow up areas of interest identified from the questionnaire
survey
Forest of Dean Pilot November 2011
Questionnaire Survey Schedule
Thank you – any questions?
• Research presented here was conducted during an ESRC Studentship
under its Capacity Building Clusters Award (RES-187-24-0002) in
partnership with 1 South West Cycle Adventure.
• For more information about this project and the work of the Centre for
Sport, Leisure and Tourism research, see
www.ex.ac.uk/slt/ourresearch/economicimpactofoff-roadbiking/
• Neil S. Ormerod, n.s.ormerod@exeter.ac.uk