'Silent sports' growing in region

By Bill O'Brien
bobrien@record-eagle.com

September 03, 2007 04:00 am

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TRAVERSE CITY -- The growth of "silent sports" is making noise in northern Michigan's economy.

So-called silent sports, referring to outdoor aerobic activities such as cross-country skiing, running, bicycling, kayaking and canoeing, snowshoeing, triathlon events and even bird watching, represent a growing niche for area businesses and tourism groups to market northern Michigan.

Those activities bring a younger, upwardly affluent group of participants who tend to leave a light footprint on the area through non-motorized sports.

"If you look at what the 'X'ers and 'Y'ers like to do, they're more into outdoor recreation," said George Schluender, director of a newly organized silent sports program at Shanty Creek Resort in Bellaire.

The resort set up the program in the spring to expand its target markets beyond traditional golf and skiing segments, and he said it's drawing attention from corporate groups and individual travelers.

Nationally, outdoor recreation activities are big business, particularly in West and East coast regions that have natural features and amenities that cater to outdoor sports. The Outdoor Industry Foundation estimates those activities contributed $730 billion to the U.S. economy in 2006, supported around 6.5 million jobs and generated an estimated $88 billion in state and federal tax revenues.

Besides the silent sports, those estimates also include spending generated by hunting, fishing and camping.

In the five Midwest states including Michigan, outdoor recreation generated close to $62 million in economic activity, close to 700,000 jobs and more than $7 million in tax revenue.

The industry also estimates that national retail sales of outdoor goods increased by 11.3 percent last year compared to 2005, and grew 47 percent from a study done in 2000.

"You're finding more families getting into (outdoor recreation)," said Jill Gwillim of Traverse City, part of the Cherry Capital Paddle America Club. Her family bikes and kayaks regularly in the area, and also travels to Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula.

"I think more people want to get outdoors and experience the beauty of our area," she said.

Don Weeks, owner of the Camelot Inn in Elk Rapids, said the growing popularity of such activities helps his business. The motel started offering four-day kayaking packages through Antrim County's Chain of Lakes three years ago, an idea that's been well-received.

"It gets more popular each year," he said. "Our selling point is that we are closer to some (attractions) than a lot of Traverse City hotels."

Weeks said his visitors come from "all over" to take part in such activities, most from downstate and outside Michigan, and as far away as the East Coast.

Joel Patenaude is the editor of Silent Sports magazine, a Wisconsin-based publication dedicated to motorless sports in the Upper Midwest, including Michigan.

He said a variety of factors fuels the silent sports surge, including the country's growing obesity rate, higher gasoline prices and better promotion by those in the business.

"Traverse City is kind of a boom area for these kinds of activities," he said. "It's all there in one area."

Silent sports can be a significant economic engine for an area, experts said, because typical participants are at least in their mid-30s with an income of up to $75,000 per year.

"These sports attract a high-end clientele," Patenaude said.

Plus, Patenaude said enthusiasts tend to stay in one location for multiple days and experience various activities in the immediate region, rather than traveling from one site to the next.

"I think the bottom line is we really want to experience a place, rather than just blasting through it," Patenaude said.

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