The Nature Tourism Program of Texas Agrilife Extension provides educational & training programs, materials and consultations for professionals, landowners and the general public.
Extension is a nationwide continuing education agency associated with each states land grant and sea grant university program.
Our Mission: 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,)
Nature Tourism – responsible travel to natural areas, which conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people.
Nature Tourism encompasses the providers of Agritourism, Adventure, Hunting, and Fishing experiences and Community Development through Nature 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
Videos
A segment of a production on ecotourism. This discusses problems experienced in US national parks during the formative years of public visitation.
SPECIAL: Vacation Deficit Disorder: The following link takes you to a site with a short video about vacation trends in American and European vacations. This was produced by John de Graaf of www.righttovacation.org for the Seattle PBS station, KCTS.
Make your business known by Submitting your operation to the Nature Tourism Inventory
