Recreational trail development within different geographical contexts as a determinant of income multiplier and local economic impact

The development of recreational trails has gained popularity in recent years and therefore many scholars have studied various aspects of them. However, the recreational trail theoretical framework lacks an understanding of the relationship between the stage of trail development and income multiplier value. This research aims to examine this relationship and thus advance the traditional theory of recreational trail economic impact by providing an explanation of the relationship between the stage of trail development and the income multiplier. This study applied a combined approach of Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) to assess the stage of trail development and the Ad hoc model to estimate the income multiplier and economic impact. The results of this study reveal that there is a strong correlation between the stage of trail development and income multiplier and provide a novelty in traditional recreational trail management and economic impact theory thus enriching the topical literature. © 2023 The Author(s)