Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Pandemic spurs rise in outdoor recreation
Retailers hope boom will last
New anglers made sure there was no lull this winter at TCO Fly Shops.
Usually interest drops off in the fall, but the customers kept coming through December, said Tony Gehman, CEO of the fly fishing and outdoor retailer with shops in West Lawn, Haverford, State College and Boiling Springs. TCO also sells online.
“At four of our stores we teach fly fishing from March to September,” Gehman said. “The schools continued right through the winter. We added five classes each month. It’s been crazy.”
Gehman said classes were limited in size because of the state’s social distancing restrictions during the pandemic but still amounted to more people than a typical year. Since the pandemic, sales at TCO have been up 20-30%, Gehman said.
The increase in outdoor recreation spurred by the pandemic is drawing new participants, particularly in boating and fishing. As retailers like Gehman prepare for what they expect to be a busy 2021, they join manufacturers and recreation officials in watching the boom to see if it will last.
Pandemic boost
In a poll released in January, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources said four out of five Pennsylvanians who visited parks and trails believe that time spent outdoors is essential to their physical and mental health during the pandemic.
John Hallas, director of the bureau of state parks, told a DCNR advisory council that there was an increase of a million visitors a month in 2020, compared to 2019, resulting in a total of 46.7 million visitors — a 26.6% annual increase.
It looks like the interest has also spurred economic growth as people try new activities.
“The poll results confirm what we have been seeing with our visitation numbers: that Pennsylvanians are turning to the outdoors for healthy activity and solace during the challenging times of the pandemic,” DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said when the poll was released. “That interest in the outdoors also has a positive impact on our economy and small businesses, as people try new activities and purchase the related gear.”
According to the poll, 37% said their interest in learning new outdoor recreation hobbies/skills increased since the pandemic began.
About 1 in 5 tried a new outdoor recreation activity.
Similarly, 1 in 5 bought outdoor recreation equipment, gear or clothing. Of those who said they bought something, 42% spent $50 to $249, almost 17% spent $250 to $499, 10% spent $500 to $749, and about 5% spent $1,000 or more.
Ellen Shultzabarger, state forester and director of the bureau of forestry, told the advisory council that state forests experienced an almost 30% increase in camping, and parking lots and trail access points were continuously filled.
Will boom continue?
The last time Gehman saw a big influx of new anglers was in 1992 after the release of the movie “A River Runs Through It,” a family drama set near the Blackfoot River in Montana starring Brad Pitt. It won an Academy Award for cinematography.
A lot of people got into fly fishing, but their interest was short-lived when they realized that Pennsylvania streams hold a different beauty than the rivers and falls depicted in the film, Gehman said.
It seems the newcomers in 2020 are more varied.
About a third of the newbies today are young adults or older teens, another third are women, and another third are people over 55 looking for a hobby after retiring or cutting back on work during the pandemic, Gehman said.
At Blue Marsh Outdoors in Penn Township, rental dispatcher Jeremy Goodman said many of the new customers had limited experience.
Blue Marsh Outdoors rental business nearly tripled in 2020, leading it to hire more staff. Rental bookings went from 651 in 2019 to 1,782 in 2020, Goodman said.
The company also saw an increase in boats and kayaks rented from 1,234 in 2019 to 3,489 in 2020. The season went a little longer into October, but that was more due to weather than demand, he said.
The company is looking into adding guided tours on the Schuylkill River in 2021.
As staff members get ready for 2021, Goodman said they are looking to expand the fleet of kayaks and replace the heavily used pontoon boats. Boats are in high demand, so they are planning well ahead, he said.
“We setting up for another good year,” he said.
For TCO’s Gehman, planning ahead also means working with manufacturers to be sure stock is available. Typically TCO works eight to 10 months in advance, but now Gehman and his staff are looking further ahead and trying to acquire double the stock.
Gehman said the education at the register and in classes is important so new anglers take care of the waterways. “No one is making more streams,” Gehman said.
Gehman expects some of the newbies won’t continue or will change interests. Still, he sees his market expanding over the next five to six years.
“We’ve been doing this for 30 years, and there’s been nothing as dramatic as this,” said Gehman.