A study released by Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC) found expenditures by snowmobilers riding OFSC trails in 2022-2023 increased to $1.48 billion, up from $843 million in 2019.
"In turn, these 2022-2023 expenditures resulted in an estimated $3 billion of snowmobiling-related economic activity for Ontario," the report states.
The OFSC manages a provincial network of over 30,000 kilometres of trails and is a volunteer-led, not-for-profit association with 181 member organizations.
The study found snowmobile trails directly support 9,307 full-time jobs last season, while generation millions of dollars in tax revenue to federal, provincial and municipal coffers.
The OFSC says the $3 billion in economic activity last winter happened despite low snow conditions in some locations.
For the first time, the study also assessed the total monetary value that OFSC snowmobile volunteers contribute to Ontario's economy as more than $16.4 million annually.
“This study reaffirms our position that Ontario’s winter tourism economy runs on snowmobiling,” said Ryan Eickmeier, OFSC CEO. “The economic impact of our snowmobile trails is especially important to rural and northern Ontario, and the contributions our volunteers make each and every year is truly remarkable."
With the Christmas break around the corner and snowmobilers eager to hit the trails, the mild weather province-wide has put a crimp in those plans, at least for now.
None of the OFSC trails were available for use as of Wednesday, Dec. 20, including places such as Timmins in the north, Kenora and Dryden in the northwest part of the province.
The OFSC retained Harry Cummings & Associates (HCA) Ltd to assess the impact of snowmobile trails during the winter of 2022-23, using the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport’s Tourism Regional Economic Impact Model (TREIM). This study is an update to others conducted by HCA in 2014 and 2019, and also includes a breakdown of economic impact numbers for each of the OFSC’s 16 districts.
A copy of the new report can be found here: 2022-2023 Economic Impact Study
Check Ontario's trail system here: https://www.ofsc.on.ca/trail-maps/
