Study on ATV Tourism Revenue

NORTHEASTERN MINNESOTA — ATV Riders are bringing in the big bucks to Northeastern Minnesota according to a University of Minnesota study.

In collaboration with the Northeastern ATV Joint Powers Board, researchers from the University of Minnesota has been collecting data on trail traffic through surveys and tracking where riders spend their money.

The study found that in 2023, Riders spent $36.1 million across St. Louis, Lake, and Koochiching Counties. The money saw increased revenues for Hotels, gas stations, and sports shops while also supporting jobs in the transportation and outdoor recreation industry.

“When you talk about why we did the study, we were getting a lot of funding for various groups, for trail development, and we needed to get some data that would back up that this funding was working to bring economic development, tourism money to northeastern Minnesota,” said Paul McDonald, a commissioner for the St. Louis County 4th District.

A key finding of the study was that investments into ATV infrastructure has been beneficial not only to growing tourism in the area, but the economy overall.