Saturday, March 8, 2014

The Economic Impact of… Birding? Yes, Birding!

Reprinted from The North Brevard Business Review, A quarterly review of business news in Mims, Port St. John, Scottsmoor, and Titusville

Tourism is "economic development," and a key driver for the economy of North Brevard. In January, the Brevard Nature Alliance hosted the 17th Annual Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival in North Brevard, an event that has grown into one of the largest birding festivals in the nation; in fact, the Southeast Tourism Society has listed it as a "Top 20 Event" for two consecutive years. This year's show captured an estimated 6,000 participants, many of whom journeyed on field trips and attended lectures by internationally recognized birding experts and ornithologists (for the uninitiated, a zoologist that focuses on, of course, birds). The economic impact of this year's four-day event was expected to reach $1.2 million, and result in more than 3,500 hotel nights booked at local lodging units.

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