Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

At Nature Tourism Development, we are dedicated to providing assistance in wildlife conservation and promoting economic growth. Our focus is on helping communities, landowners, and businesses, as well as travelers, gain the skills needed for planning, developing, managing, and marketing nature-based recreation and tourism activities. From agritourism and outdoor adventures to fishing and hunting, our educational programs are designed for a diverse audience, including public and private sector businesses, community leaders, and landowners. We invite you to explore the resources available here and share your success stories, whether big or small, as well as your needs and suggestions for new content or training programs.

The state of Texas plays a significant role in the tourism industry, with a travel industry GDP of $31.1 billion in 2015, surpassed only by the oil and gas sectors. Total direct travel spending in Texas is estimated at $69 billion, directly supporting over 653,000 jobs and generating $6.2 billion in state and local tax revenues. This industry also indirectly supported another 165,000 jobs and $9.4 billion in earnings. We provide detailed data on the economic impact of tourism in our region, all based on rigorous research conducted by the Office of the Governor in Texas and Dean Runyan Associates, Inc. of Portland, Oregon.

Delving further into the national impact of nature-based tourism, nearly 90 million Americans, representing 38% of the population aged 16 and older, engaged in wildlife-associated recreation in 2011. It's an extensive sector of our national economy, with expenditures by these enthusiasts amounting to $145 billion—equivalent to 1% of the nation's GDP. The outdoor recreation economy contributes $646 billion annually to the U.S., supports 6.1 million jobs, and accounts for over $120 billion in retail sales, playing a crucial role in bolstering rural communities.

Our program is a part of the broader Recreation Park and Tourism Extension Unit. We encourage you to visit the RPTS Extension webpage for details about our myriad of educational initiatives and find the reports and publications that may be of interest to you.