The National Park Service announced in a new report that, in 2020, visitors to national parks contributed $28.6 billion to the U.S. economy. This visitor spending, much of which was during the COVID-19 pandemic, helped support no fewer than 234,000 jobs.
National Park Visitor Spending in 2020 Contributed $28.6 Billion to U.S. Economy and Supported 234,000 Jobs
The 2020 National Park Visitor Spending Effects Report is an annual peer-reviewed economics report prepared by economists from the National Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. It contains a wealth of information about visitor spending in national parks and states, the total number of jobs supported by dollars spent by national park visitors, and many other statistics.
According to the report, which was announced in a National Park Service press release on June 10, 2021, about 237 million people visited the national parks in 2020, spending $14.5 billion in communities within 60 miles of a national park.
Visitor spending supported a total of 234,000 jobs nationwide, 194,400 of which were in communities within 50 miles from a national park.
It is important to note, however, that 2020 was not a typical year, as we all well know. Visitation was much less in 2020 than was in previous years, which resulted in a decrease in everything from labor income and jobs numbers to economic output related to the parks.
Yet, the national parks still did support 234,000 jobs during one of the most challenging years in recent history.
“The pandemic reminds us all of the importance of the outdoors not only to our economy, but also to our health and wellness. We are excited to welcome visitors back outdoors as weather warms and more people are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. We are expecting high visitation this summer and encourage visitors to explore our website as they plan their trips.”
– National Park Service Deputy Director Shawn Benge
Specifically, national park visitor spending supported 45,900 jobs in restaurants and over 43,100 jobs in lodging. Additionally, dollars spent by park visitors supported 18,100 recreation industry jobs and 14,300 retail jobs.
The lodging sector in the national park had the largest economic output nationally, a direct effect on the U.S. economy of $5 billion. The restaurant sector had a national economic output of $3 billion.
To see more statistics about how national park visitor spending contributes to local communities and the U.S. economy as a whole, check out this fun interactive tool.
It has tons of information, including visitor spending, jobs, labor income, value added and economic output in the national economy, state economies and individual park economies.