Abstract

In this paper we report upon the financial characteristics of charter boat operators in a five-state U.S. Gulf of Mexico study area. Revenues and expenditures provide a breakdown for a typical enterprise. This is used in conjunction with the IMPLAN (IMpact analysis for PLANning) model to estimate economic impacts generated by charter and party boat operations. Because the charter and party boat industry is too small to be identified specificallyas a separate sector in the IMPLAN model, the collection of the aforementioned more detailed data was necessary. The IMPLAN model was customized by developing specific output and purchasing relationships for these industries, to enable indirect and induced impacts to be estimated. Gulf of Mexico charter boat operations were estimated to have generated annual total (direct, indirect, and induced) output valued at $131.0 million, incomes of $60.3 million, and employment amounting to 3,116 jobs. The party boat industry generated annual total (direct, indirect, and induced) output valued at $18.5 million, incomes of $8.2 million, and employment amounting to 371 jobs. Practical implications of our research are numerous. Clearly, during times of policy change, this type of information provides a base of knowledge for informing government officials about the magnitude of industry impacts. At an individual level, boat operators can compare themselves to industry expenditure profiles. No one individual operator will likely match such an expenditure profile exactly but this information provides a basis for comparison, causing one to question reasons for large deviations from the norm.

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