Outdoor recreation, including hunting, fishing, hiking, wildlife watching and boating is big business. It brings day and overnight visitors to an area and communities reap the economic benefits when visitors buy meals and snacks, stay overnight in hotels, buy specialized equipment, lease land, and pay for travel costs. When a community protects its natural resources, it protects the reason outdoor tourists come to the community.
Tourism is Pennsylvania's second-largest industry. According to the Pennsylvania Department for Community and Economic Development, Pennsylvania's travel and tourism industry has a total economic impact of $32.9 billion annually on the state's economy. It provides 450,000 travel and tourism-related jobs and $3.4 billion in state and local tax revenues.