Users are required to provide different information that the models use to adjust boater spending profiles and determine the multipliers used to estimate impacts. Please review the types of information which must be supplied before selecting a model.

(1) Economic Impact of Registered Boats in Florida Counties and Regions

To estimate impacts of registered boats in counties and regions all that a user has to do is to identify a Florida county or one of 10 Florida regions. These regions represent Florida economic regions and capture boater origin-destination patterns: (1) West Panhandle: Escambia to Bay, Washington and Holmes counties. (2) Central Panhandle: Gulf, Calhoun, and Jackson counties to Leon and Walkulla. (3) North Central: from Jefferson county on the wear around bend to Hernanado county and eastward including Baker, Bradford, Alachua, Marion and Sumter counties. (4) Northeast: Five-county area around the Jacksonville area to Putnam and St. Johns counties to the south. (5) South Inland: Inland counties from Polk and Osceola south. (6) East Central: Coastal counties from Flagler to Brevard plus Lake, Seminole, and Orange counties. (7) Southeast: Coastal counties from Indian River to Palm Beach county. (8) West Central: Three county region around Tampa/St. Petersburg. (9) Southwest: Southwest coast from Manatee county to Collier county. (10) South: Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.

(2) Marina Economic Impacts

To run the marina model users need to provide: (1) some information about the type of marina, (2) the numbers of different type (e.g., sail, power and size of boats stored in the marina, (3) the number of transient rental nights if the marina rents transient slips, (4) the Florida county where the marina is located, and (5) whether the local area where the marina is located is a high, medium, or low spending area. A high spending area is one having many different spending opportunities (e.g., restaurants, entertainment, shopping) for boaters and above average prices compared to other areas, a medium spending area is characterized as having average spending opportunities and prices, and a low spending area has a limited number of opportunities for boaters to spend money (e.g., shopping, restaurants) and below average prices.

If there is current and reliable information about spending and boating activity by boaters in a marina the average spending profiles built into the model may be modified to fit a particular application. For example, in the case of a marina, the marina's actual slip or storage fees can be substituted for the average slip fees.

(3) Economic Impacts of Boat Launch Sites

To estimate the economic impacts of boat launches in Florida users need to provide information on: (1) the type of boat launch (e.g., government for public use, private for public use), 2) the estimated number of launches annually, (3) the county where it is located, 4) whether the launch is located in a high, medium, or low spending area, and (5) whether the site is used by almost all locals, mostly by locals but some non-locals (tourists), or heavily by non-locals. Non-locals are more likely to lauch their boats while on overnight trips and overnight trips are characterized by higher and different spending patterns.