The Tauri Group believes there are about another 7,500 wealthy people waiting
in the wings.
“Our analysis indicates that about 8,000 high-net-worth individuals from
across the globe are sufficiently interested and have spending patterns
likely to result in the purchase of a suborbital flight – one-third from the
United States,” the report said.
“We estimate that about 40 per cent of the interested, high-net-worth
population, or 3,600 individuals, will fly within the 10-year forecast,”
it added.
The study, which included surveys of 200 people with a net worth of least $5
million, valued the fledgling industry at $600 million in its first decade,
based on current market conditions and interest.
The market could be worth nearly three times that if marketing and consumer
interest grows in the wake of successful flights, the study said.
“Further potential could be realised through price reductions and
unpredictable achievements such as major research discoveries, the
identification of new commercial applications, the emergence of global brand
value, and new government (especially military) uses for suborbital reusable
vehicles,” the study said.
After tourists, the next biggest group of potential users are in the research
community. Other potential markets include technology flight demonstrations,
media and public relations, education, satellite launching, remote sensing
and suborbital travel from one destination to another, a technology that is
likely beyond the study’s 10-year time frame.
The $277,000 study, titled “Suborbital Reusable Vehicles: A Ten-Year
Forecast of Market Demand,” was paid for by the US Federal Aviation
Administration, which oversees commercial space flight, and the state of
Florida, which is home to Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center.
Source: agencies
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