People in Golden love to ride their bikes, whether it’s to work, on the Moonraker Trails, or downhill at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort.
But this activity is not only enjoyable for the residents, it is an economic driver as well.
Destination British Columbia conducted a study, funded through the Resort Municipality Initiative, summarizing Mountain Biking in Rossland and Golden, and its economic significance.
The study used the BCIOM (BC Input-Output Model) model, which aims to determine the total economic impact on the B.C. economy.
Data was collected between July and September of 2011, from mountain bike visitors to the two communities. It gathered information regarding the incremental spending of the visitors to produce visitor spending profiles.
It followed mountain bikers who come to the area for both the KHMR trails, and other trails in the community. No residents were included in the data.
The study found that mountain bike visitors to Golden spent a total of $930,000, which included an estimated $48,000 was spent on imports from other countries and $59,000 on imports from other provinces, with inventory withdrawals estimated at $6,000.
“Out of the total economic impact, the largest share of expenditure is made by consumers on services related to mountain biking activities, such as accommodation, food, and transportation,” stated the study.
Even though this spending is generated in supplier industries, and there is no direct employment generated through the mountain biking tourism, the study estimates that nine jobs in supplier industries are supported by these expenditures by visitors.
The study also recognized the significance of output revenue, or taxes going out into the larger economy.
“Transportation, food and beverages represent a significant share of total spending by mountain bikers. Some types of expenditures (e.g., fuel and alcohol) include embedded taxes, such as transportation and alcohol, as well as GST and HST paid on the final purchase price. As a result, the tax impact associated with direct expenditures is quite high. Federal, provincial, and local tax revenue impacts (including commodity and income taxes) are estimated at $237,000.”
The study showed that Golden has a stronger mountain biking industry than Rossland, who recorded a total of $589,000 spent by visiting mountain bikers.
