From a comprehensive 72 page report published by the BritishMarine Federation we learn that boating tourism contributed an estimated £3.7 billion to the UK economy in 2012/13.
This figure accounts for 3.2% of all tourism expenditure in the UK, and supports approximately 96,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs through direct and indirect effects.
This annual contribution to the UK economy in 2012/13 is estimated to be larger than the total tourism impact of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games between 2005 and 2017.
UK boating tourism generated a total turnover of £609 million in 2012/13, across more than 2,000 businesses.
This returned Gross Value Added (GVA) of £434 million and supporting 14,900 FTE jobs (directly and indirectly).
In addition, wider tourism expenditures support a further 81,000 FTE jobs and £3.3 billion of GVA in the UK economy.