Tourism and recreation
The realisation of a nature area is more often than not, seen as a costly hobby at the expense of productive farmland. Nevertheless, the development of a nature area appears to be an investment with an important economic significance. Every area open to the public will have visitors to boost sales in the catering trade and other tourist enterprises in the area. Research of the Gelderse Poort showed that nature development in the immediate vicinity created over a hundred jobs, over 15,000 nights spent at three hotels, and 22,000 nights spent at two camping sites. And this is only a fraction of the total profit earned in the recreational sector by nature development. It also saw the creation of field study agencies, a bike hire company, there are various ferry and round-trip boat services, and many products like books, maps and guidebooks are sold.
