| NATURE TOURISM PROGRAM
Contact Mr. Miles Phillips for information on this program
Phone: (979) 845-1023 Email: mdphillips@ag.tamu.edu http://naturetourism.tamu.edu
Our goal is to
assist people who are interested in nature tourism as a business enterprise, conservation or community development program. This Web site provides access to numerous e-tools,
publications and resources about nature-tourism (ecotourism, agritourism, wildlife enterprises, hunting, fishing, geotourism, sustainable tourism,)
THE RECREATION ECONOMY: According to a study from the Outdoor Industry Association, nature-based tourism has a large national economic footprint (please note that the numbers below reflect national totals): For more statistics and studies, click here.
• Contributes $730 billion annually to the U.S. economy
• Supports nearly 6.5 million jobs across the U.S.
• Generates $88 billion in annual state and national tax revenue
• Provides sustainable growth in rural communities
• Generates $289 billion annually in retail sales and services across the U.S.
• Touches over 8 percent of America’s personal consumption expenditures—
more than 1 in every 12 dollars circulating in the economy
Texas
Agrilife Extension Service
Reference for Tourism Resources
Local
Hotel Tax Revenue & Occupancy Rates http://travel.state.tx.us/travelresearch/hotel-reports.aspx
TACVB
Texas
Assoc of Convention & Visitor Bureau http://www.tacvb.org/
COC Chamber of Commerce http://www.lnstar.com/mall/main-areas/chamber/chambers.htm
EDC Economic Development Corporations http://exasedc.org
State Agencies
Texas Agrilife Extension Nature Tourism http://naturetourism.tamu.edu
Texas Agrilife Extension Wildlife & Fisheries http://wildlife.tamu.edu/main/index.aspx
Texas Agrilife Extension Rural Entrepreneur Site http://tcre.org
TPWD
Texas
Parks
and Wildlife Division http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/land/programs/tourism/
TDA Texas Department of Agriculture http://www.agr.state.tx.us/eco/rural_eco_devo/economic_development/fin_ruraltourism.htm
TX Office of the Governor - Economic Development and Tourism - Nature Tourism
http://www.travel.state.tx.us/NatureTourism.aspx
TXDOT
Texas
Dept of Transportation http://www.txdot.gov/travel/
THC Texas Historical Commission http://www.thc.state.tx.us
TAC
Texas
Arts Commission http://www.arts.state.tx.us/toolkit/tourism/templates/glossary.asp
Texas Forest Servie http://txforestservice.tamu.edu/main/default.aspx
Non-Government Organizations Non-Profit & For-Profit
Watchable Wildlife Inc http://www.watchablewildlife.com
Southwick Associates: Economic Data http://www.southwickassociates.com
TIA Travel Industry of
America
http://www.tia.org/index.html
TTIA
Texas
Travel Industry Association http://www.ttia.org
TWA
Texas
Wildlife Association http://www.texas-wildlife.org
HAT Great Stays of
Texas
http://www.hat.org/
Texas
Hotel & Motel Association http://texaslodging.com
AO America Outdoors - Outfitter Association http://www.americaoutdoors.org/
North American Farmers Direct Marketing Association http://www.nafdma.com
Green Hotel Association http://www.greenhotels.com
TAMU Center for Sustainable Tourism http://www.rpts.tamu.edu/sts/
Kalahari Management Inc http://www.kalahari-online.com
Municipal Resource & Service Center of Washington http://mrsc.org/Subjects/Econ/ed-TourEco.aspx
Texas Trails Network http://www.texastrails.org/
Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation http://www.marshfieldclinic.org/nccrahs/default.aspx?page=nccrahs_ag_tourism
Texas Outdoor Writers Association http://www.towa.org/
National Agencies
National Recreation Site http://www.recreation.gov/
USFWS
United States
Fish & Wildlife Service http://federalaid.fws.gov/surveys/surveys.html
Texas Fishing, Hunting & Wildlife Associated Recreation: http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/01fhw/fhw01-tx.pdf
NPS National Park Service http://www.nps.gov Tourism Info http://www.nps.gov/tourism/
USFS
United States
Forest
Service http://www.fs.fed.us/
NRCS Natural Resource Conservation Service - AgTourism
http://www.economics.nrcs.usda.gov/altenterprise/index.html
USDA United State Department of Agriculture Rural
Information
Center
http://www.nal.usda.gov/ric/ricpubs/tourism.html
USACE Army Corps of Engineers Recreation Site/Reservoirs http://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/visitors/
Agricultural Marketing Resource Center Nature-Based Tourism
http://www.agmrc.org/commodities__products/agritourism/naturebased_tourism.cfm
International
WTO World Tourism Organization http://www.world-tourism.org/
TIES The International Ecotourism Society http://www.ecotourism.org
PLANETA.COM Private Ecotourism Organization -
Mexico
http://www.planeta.com
Please complete a short site evaluation! http://naturetourism.tamu.edu
|