Park tourism has huge local impact

Grand Teton National Park had a $744 million impact on the regional economy last year.

A National Park Service report shows more than 3.3 million recreational visitors spent $590 million in communities near the park during 2017. They supported almost 8,700 jobs in the local area.

“It is a privilege to welcome visitors from around the world to share the spectacular natural and cultural resources of this iconic national park,” said Grand Teton National Park Superintendent David Vela. “National park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy, returning $10 for every $1 invested in the National Park Service, and it is a big factor in our local economy as well.”

Nationally, the report shows $18.2 billion of direct spending by more than 330 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 306,000 jobs nationally; 255,900 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $35.8 billion.

Most visitor spending (32.9 percent) was spent on lodging and camping, followed by food and beverages (27.5 percent), gas and oil (12.1 percent), souvenirs and other expenses (10.1 percent), admissions and fees (10 percent), and local transportation (7.5 percent).

Detailed information on the national economic impact report is available here.