Oriskany divers generate $3.6 million to local economy
PENSACOLA - A study by the University of West Florida indicates a $2 million annual economic impact on Escambia County from scuba divers visiting the USS Oriskany, the world’s largest artificial reef sunk off Pensacola in 2006. When the impact to Baldwin County, Ala., is added, the economic impact increases to $3.6 million. The Oriskany generated more than 4,200 chartered dive trips during the year, attracting visitors from across the United States and abroad.
While dive charter operators reported an immediate positive economic impact after the Oriskany was scuttled and settled perfectly upright on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, a more detailed study by the HAAS Center for Business Research and Economic Development at UWF, commissioned by the Pensacola Bay Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, revealed the retired carrier’s presence during its first year created a significant ripple effect within the local economy.
The study focused largely on the economic impact from out-of-area scuba divers and accompanying non-divers, while creating a socio-demographic profile of divers who visited the area specifically to dive the Oriskany.
“It is gratifying to look at this report and confirm what we have always believed, that the Oriskany has had a major and lasting impact on the economy of Escambia County and the larger region,” said Ed Schroeder, director of the Pensacola Bay Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “This study tells us that we have not only made a major impact on the dive world but have found an economic engine that has created a beneficial ripple throughout the community. The Oriskany brings the divers who stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants and enjoy many of the attractions offered in the Pensacola Bay Area.”
Two versions of the regional economic model were created, one covering both Escambia County, Fla., and Baldwin County, Ala., and one focusing solely on Escambia County.
The two-county model estimated:
- $2.2 million in total dive-trip related expenditures.
- A $3.6 million total economic impact from dive-related expenditures.
- The creation of 67 additional jobs producing $1.4 million in local income.
In Escambia County alone the estimate is:
- $1.2 million in total dive-trip related expenditures.
- A $2 million total economic impact from dive-related expenditures.
- Creation of 37 additional jobs producing $740,000 in local income.
The study also found that:
- Apart from charter boat rental fees, visiting divers spent an average of $463 per trip with the majority being spent on lodging, food and shopping.
- The majority of divers (32 percent) came from Florida followed by Louisiana and Texas (10 percent each), Georgia (9 percent) and Alabama (8 percent).
- Of the divers staying overnight, more than 75 percent stayed in Pensacola or on Pensacola Beach.
- Oriskany divers are generally well-educated males with annual household incomes in excess of $100,000.
To estimate the total number of divers visiting the region to dive the Oriskany, all dive shops and boat operators operating in Pensacola, Fla., and Gulf Shores, Ala., were contacted. To generate the profile of divers, data was collected from liability release forms from Scuba Shack dive shop in Pensacola.
For more information about the economic impact of the Oriskany, contact the Pensacola Bay Area Convention & Visitors Bureau at (850) 434-1234.