The recreational and economic value of Florida beaches

Abstract

Florida is the world’s top travel destination and. if it were its own country, it would have more tourist visits than any other country. Its sandy beaches extend a shoreline length almost as great as the combined lengths of sandy beaches in California, Texas, and North Carolina. Florida’s beaches are easily America’s recreational playground. Every year, Florida beaches attract approximately 70% more day visits than combined attendance at national parks, college and professional sports, amusement parks, cruises, and NASCAR events. Beach tourism plays a huge role in Florida’s economy. Manufacturing and residential construction are major industries in Florida, but their revenues are each a fraction of beach-oriented tourist spending. Florida’s farmland, ranches, and forests cover 75% of its land area, but beach-oriented tourist spending is more than 10 times the total receipts of all Florida agriculture and forestry. Beach-oriented tourists generate $23.3 billion in tax revenues annually. These tax revenues are more than double the combined salaries of Florida K-12 public school teachers, law enforcement officers, and instructors at colleges and universities. Some Florida beaches have sand deficits because dams on rivers have blocked sand that normally would flow to the coast, and navigation projects have diverted sand out of the littoral system to ebb and flood shoals. Beach nourishment has then been needed to restore and maintain the beaches. Beaches widened by nourishment have not only been a magnet for tourists, but have also protected bil- lions of dollars of shore infrastructure from hurricanes. Beach nourishment has been a bargain, with beach-oriented tourists in Florida generating six times more tax revenues each year than have been spent on Florida beach nourishment during the 80 years from 1944-2023 (in 2022 dollars to account for inflation). Most Florida beach nourishment has been placed in the past 50 years, and beach-oriented tourists have generated $310 dollars in tax revenues and $1070 in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually for every $1 spent on beach nourishment. Miami Beach is a good example of the economic benefits of beach nourishment. It had almost no beach in the mid-1970s because of erosion, causing tourism to drop rapidly and itself to become a “seedy backwater of debt-ridden hotels.” Beach nourishment starting in 1978 caused a boom in tourism, and today Miami Beach has the most valuable property in Florida — worth more than the value of all Florida cropland. Miami Beach has had a return of $550 in tourist-generated taxes and $3900 in GDP for every $1 spent on beach nourishment.