Economic and Fiscal Impact of Recreation Amenities in Poultney, VT

The Challenge

The Town of Poultney, VT, received a grant to assist with marketing and promoting its many outdoor recreation assets. As part of the grant process, the Town needed to document the contribution of these assets to the town’s economy through visitor spending on lodging, food, entertainment, gas, equipment, and other retail.

Specifically, four outdoor recreation assets were to be analyzed:

• Lake St. Catherine State Park
• Lake St. Catherine Golf Course
• Slate Valley Trails
• Pond Hill Ranch

The Solution

To quantify the impact of the outdoor recreation assets on the region, the Town commissioned Camoin Associates to conduct an economic impact and fiscal impact analysis of the assets on the community.

Throughout the summer and fall of 2023, the Town conducted a survey to evaluate the impact of outdoor recreation visitors on the community. The survey gathered information related to outdoor recreation users, including number of visits, spending habits, location of origin, and information about the party. Camoin Associates then used Lightcast to calculate the economic impacts of the outdoor recreation assets.

The Impact

The impact analysis was used to document the results of the grant and will be used to apply for future financing opportunities.

Operators of the four recreation assets that were analyzed are planning to use the information to garner future support from public, private, and nonprofit entities and continue to highlight their importance to the local economy.

Services Provided:

• Survey development and distribution guidance
• Survey results analysis
• Economic and fiscal impact analysis