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Feature: The Economy Cycle
01/11/2002
It is difficult to assess the economic benefits of the outdoor activity sector – or to attempt to gauge its potential.
Take the bicycle. Road bike. Mountain bike. Downhill bike. What has the bicycle ever done for us?
Case Study: Mountain Bike, Coed y Brenin, Dolgellau.
It started seven years ago. Cross-country courses were designed and built in the softwood forests of Coed y Brenin. A partnership between an enlightened Forestry Commission (now Forest Enterprise) and, amongst others, Red Bull (the hyper-active drinks manufacturer), funded a series of mountain bike routes, both for the beginner and for the serious head-case.
Dafydd Davis was there at the beginning and was instrumental in the development of the tracks. Working for the Forestry Commission he designed the first three tracks. These were built with the voluntary labour of enthusiasts in 1994. They cost just £700.
“The building continued through the nineties and by 1999 an expanded network had been created, with just £18,000 having been spent. The Forestry Commission then got involved, alongside other sponsors,” said Dafydd. “To date the whole project has cost some £180,000 and there is now about 100km of tracks.”
So how many mountain bike (MTB) riders use the facility? “We have 120,000 visitors to the forest annually. Of these 105,000 are here to ride the trails,” states Dafydd.
This is impressive, and I wonder how this figure translates into a solid economic value.
Dafydd has undertaken extensive market research in order to maximize the MTB ‘product’ in Wales, as well as to justify the paymasters.
“Of the 105,000 MTB’visitors, 61% stay for periods of two or more days, and within 15 miles of the tracks. Their average spend is £40 per day.”
So that adds up to, um…er, a little over £5 million per annum straight into the local economy. “That figure doesn’t take into account day visitors, or those staying longer than two days,” adds Dafydd. So £5 million is a conservative estimate. This is beginning to get serious.
Coed y Brenin, as with all the Welsh Forest Enterprise woodlands, is now owned by the National Assembly. They have charged Forest Enterprise to manage this resource in order to bring benefits to the people of Wales. Out of this mandate has developed the Mountain Bike Wales strategy funded by the Assembly with the sum of £500,000. This aims to develop 5 ‘destination’ sites across Wales.
Two of these, Coed y Brenin and Gwydyr Forest, are in Snowdonia. The MTB Wales strategy aims to bring an annual 400,000 new visitors to the trails, and £15 million of new revenue.
With 75km of new single-track trail built in the past 12 months, Wales is becoming a major centre for UK mountain biking. Of the 250km of track so far built in Wales, Coed y Brenin hosts 100km. And it is not just the quantity that impresses. Says Dafydd, “the course builders in Wales are recognized by the International MTB Federation as leading the way in quality track building. So another bonus in all this is the development of a trained and skilful workforce.”
I last visited Coed y Brenin some five years ago. I remember it well as we somehow got slightly off route. A twenty mile circuit turned into a forty mile epic. It was a good day.
I arrive this time on a late September weekday. Things have changed. The car parks are half full – bikes everywhere. The place is humming. I head for the Visitor Centre Café.
Sian Roberts was also here at the start of the trail development. An experienced mountain biker competing on the international circuit, Sian and her partner Dafydd took over the running of the Café seven years ago. They have witnessed a massive increase in visitor numbers over that period.
“When we took over, the visitor centre had 11,000 visitors per year. Then, with the track building, it jumped to 30,000. Now, seven years on, we are getting 130,000.”
My timing is terrible. It is 2pm and Sian is cooking for a continuous stream of bikers. It ‘s a hurried conversation. Is it always this busy so late in the season? “The season used to last about eight weeks. Now it’s a ten month season.”
She dashes back to the kitchen. I go for a wander outside. This is a good place. There’s a buzz in the air. Seeing so many bikes in one place – it reminds me of the Alps or the Dolomites.
I count 20 bikes in the café bike rack. The outside tables are nearly full – who says it’s always raining. A MTB is nailed atop a sixty foot high Douglas Fir stump. There must be 100 cars dotted around – nearly all with bike carriers on the roof or boot. Heaven knows how many bikes are out on the 100km of trails. I chat to a couple of guys from Birmingham. They are over here for five days, staying in a B&B in Dolgellau. “Yes we’re here mainly for the tracks. It’s just a good scene. And it’s free.”
And this is important. This facility is free to all-comers – and they do, indeed, come from all over. Come to this corner of Snowdonia. Partake of this generous facility – and in return deposit £5 million into the local coffers. Unless I’m missing something, well, everyone’s a winner. We don’t need to take money on the gate from our visitors. We need to provide them with quality, with generosity and respect. We need to show them a good time. As Dafydd Davis says, “The tourist authorities are now beginning to recognize the potential of the activity sector.”
The developments in mountain biking, over just seven years, show how significant that potential really is.
www.mbwales.com/coed_y_brenin
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