Finding the perfect wave has been called a mystic experience by surfers, many of whom comb the world’s beaches in search of unbeatable breaks.

A recent study by Sydney University economist Sam Wills and Thomas McGregor of Oxford University, good waves are a valuable commodity. “We find that surfing waves contribute approximately US$50 billion to global economic activity each year,” said the researchers.

In an attempt to understand the remote, unpopulated beaches have been lifted into international fame due to the arrival of surfers, the researchers studied 5,000 surf breaks in 146 countries. The results, published this month, said, “A quality wave can result in as much as 2.2 additional percentage points worth of growth for local gross domestic product (GDP).”

And while, there is little to be done to protect such a naturally occurring phenomenon, there are ways to make such sites more attractive to visitors such as keeping them free of trash (who wants to surf with plastic bags?), having good infrastructure for visitors, and having lifeguards and other safety personnel on hand.

Researchers charted economic growth to understand which of these surf sites were the fastest growing. They did so by looking at population growth and also looking at light emissions as an indicator of growth.

The results placed Nosara’s Guiones beach on Costa Rica’s Pacific Nicoya Peninsula as the fastest growing surf break site in the world.

Being able to quantify the economic benefit of these sites will hopefully aid in developing and supporting environmentally conscious policies that aim to protect the natural integrity of such beaches, said McGregor and Wills.

This study did not look at the type of growth happening at this world class surf spots, so the study is no indicator of whether this development is sustainable or equitable or otherwise socially responsible. In some cases, mass tourism has moved in on the heels of great finds surfers have happened across, thus edging out the low-key surf culture.

Jess Ponting, Director of the Center for Surf Research at San Diego State University in an interview with Inertia magazine, said, “I am so stoked to have this work available to all surf researchers moving forward. But … it does … demonstrate that surfing is driving change on global and massive scale, and much of the surf community is kind of asleep at the wheel.”

According to McGregor and Wills’ study, these are the ten fastest growing surf breaks in Australia (left) and around the world (right). Photo: Sydney University

To protect these previous remote beaches, surfers may have to take to more than the waves to protect their havens, and start getting behind local sustainability initiatives to protect their once pristine beaches. In this age of growing travel and tourism, where adventure tourists increasingly seek out unique spots, surfers and local governments need to join hands to promote sustainable growth in surf areas, said the study authors.

Wills in an interview with the Australian Financial Review, revealed the inspiration for this study, saying: “It was November and I needed to get out of Oxford, so I looked for somewhere warm and sunny with good waves. I settled on Taghazout in Morocco, thinking it would be quiet. Flying in at sunset over the desert I noticed that everything was dark, except for one little spot that was lit up like Pitt Street: Taghazout. Once I arrived I realized that this previously sleepy little fishing village had been overrun by surfers, and so I wanted to figure out whether it was systematically happening around the world.”