Fast Facts / Tourism and Recreation
Tourism and Recreation
Coastal tourism and recreation support millions of jobs in a wide range of businesses. The following facts are based on NOAA’s 2024 Open Economics: National Ocean Watch (Open ENOW) dataset.
2.5 Million People
Over 2.5 million people are directly employed by coastal tourism and recreation.
$91 Billion Earnings
Workers in the coastal tourism and recreation sector earned about $90.6 billion in annual wages.
$207 Billion GDP
Coastal tourism and recreation contribute approximately $207 billion in gross domestic product to the national economy each year.
A Major Employer
The coastal tourism and recreation sector employs more people than the entire real estate industry, as well as more people than building construction and telecommunications combined.
Post-COVID Recovery
The COVID pandemic hit the coastal tourism and recreation sector hard—total sector employment fell 26 percent from 2019 to 2020. The sector grew rapidly over the following four years, adding 639,000 jobs through 2024 and returning to pre-pandemic levels of employment.
Top States
Among the top 10 states for employment in marine-based tourism and recreation in 2024 are Florida, California, Hawaii, South Carolina, and Michigan. In terms of gross domestic product, those same states are top contributors, with Illinois replacing Michigan in the top 10.
Ripple Effects of Coastal Recreation
Assessing the coastal tourism and recreation sector alone represents only part of its contribution to the broader economy. Recreation-focused businesses support additional American jobs by purchasing goods and services from suppliers (indirect effects), while their workers boost the economy through household spending (induced effects).
Including these economic ripple effects, the sector supports:
- Over 4 million jobs across all U.S. states and territories
- $178 billion in worker wages
- $426 billion contributed to U.S. GDP
*Note: Open Economics: National Ocean Watch (Open ENOW) tracks establishments, employment, wages, and contribution to GDP in six economic sectors that are dependent on the oceans and Great Lakes. Open ENOW's tourism and recreation statistics are good indicators of coastal and ocean tourism because they estimate the ocean-dependent portion of business for hotels and restaurants by including only those establishments located in shore-adjacent zip code areas, and they exclude all forms of sports and entertainment that are not ocean-related.
NOAA's Office for Coastal Management used 2024 Open ENOW data and the IMPLAN input-output model to estimate the total economic contribution of coastal tourism and recreation.
