What is a Good Wave Worth?

What is a wave worth? By one estimate, waves ridden by surfers represent $51 billion in economic activity.

source: Save the Waves

That is the result of a study of 5,000 locations by Oxford University economists Thomas McGregor and Samuel Wills, who studied night-time light emissions as a proxy for economic activity.

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Another study of Australian activity over a two-month period of about $20 million for local economies.

The notion of applying market forces to conservation or preservation of natural assets sometimes is criticized as applying a market test to non-material values. Surfers who think about it might agree that highlighting the value of waves can contribute to preservation, conservation, cleanliness and other non-material values.

$45 per day is an estimate of the economic value of surfable waves found near the coastal community of Huanchaco, Peru, the non-profit Save the Waves organization has estimated.

In Pichilemu, Chile, for example, the average surf tourist spends $168 per day.  In Uluwatu in Bali, Indonesia, the typical surf tourist spends $150 per day.