August 28, 2023 — Last week, the Department of the Interior revealed that communities neighboring national parks witnessed an economic benefit of $50.3 billion due to visitor spending in 2022. This surge in spending further resulted in the support of 378,400 jobs.

Secretary Deb Haaland said, “When people visit one of our parks, they are contributing to the community around them.” She further highlighted the Administration’s endeavors through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to fund the National Park System for critical infrastructure and upkeep requirements.

Details from the National Park Service Report.

The 2022 National Park Visitor Spending Effects report disclosed that around 312 million visitors expended $23.9 billion in communities situated within 60 miles of a national park. From the jobs generated due to this spending, 314,600 were located in park gateway communities.

National Park Service Director Chuck Sams commented on the century-long dedication of the National Park Service towards the maintenance and promotion of national parks. He emphasized the undeniable influence of tourism related to national parks in terms of employment and revenue for communities throughout the nation.

Furthermore, for the fiscal year 2022, the National Park Service received appropriations amounting to $3.3 billion. This investment in national parks translates into over a $10 increase for the nation’s economy for every dollar invested.

Advanced Monitoring Enhances Report Accuracy.

The most recent report incorporates new socioeconomic monitoring survey data, which significantly refines the accuracy of expenditure estimations for each park. This enhanced monitoring also offers a more precise assessment of the economic contributions of parks to surrounding communities.

Online Access to Report Results.

Interested individuals can access the results from the Visitor Spending Effects report series through an online interactive platform. This tool allows users to scrutinize year-wise trend data and delve into the latest year’s visitor expenditure, employment figures, labor income, value-added, and economic output impacts by sector for national, state, and local economies. The tool can be found on the Visitor Spending Effects webpage.

The report, having undergone peer review, was written by economists from the National Park Service.

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