Private Recreation Enterprise Economics

Cash returns to recreation enterprise labor and management are low. Low returns are associated with poor location, small size, and short season. Land-value appreciation may offset low returns for some operators and explain why they stay in business. Profit maximization is not always the prime entrepreneurial goal: personal and noneconomic considerations or long-run capital gain may have an overriding effect. This situation could change if low returns were coupled with high property taxation over a prolonged period. Recreation researchers could add to existing knowledge by classifying all firms according to entrepreneurial goals.