A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 9,708,443 visitors to national parks in Pennsylvania spent $467,100,000 in the state in 2018. That spending resulted in 7,381 jobs and had a cumulative benefit to the state economy of $693 million.
The national parks of Pennsylvania attract visitors from across the country and around the world. This new report shows that national park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy - returning $10 for every $1 invested in the National Park Service - and a big factor in the state's economy as well.
Pennsylvania's National Park Service sites that were included in this study are Independence National Historical Park, Valley Forge National Historical Park, Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site, Thaddeau Kosciuszko National Memorial, Flight 93 National Memorial, Fort Necessity National Battlefield, Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Johnstown Flood National Memorial, Friendship Hill National Historic Site, Steamtown National Historic Site, Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area (also includes sections in New Jersey), and Upper Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River.
The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis report shows $20.2 billion of direct spending by more than 318 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 329,000 jobs nationally, 268,000 of which are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $40.1 billion.
Lodging expenses account for the largest share of visitor spending, about $6.8 billion in 2018. Food expenses are the second largest spending area, and visitors spent $4 billion in restaurants and bars and another $1.4 billion at grocery and convenience stores.
Visitor spending on lodging supported more than 58,000 jobs and more than 61,000 jobs in restaurants. Visitor spending in the recreation industries supported more than 28,000 jobs, and spending in retail supported more than 20,000 jobs.
Report authors also produce an interactive tool that enables users to explore visitor spending, jobs, labor income, value added, and output effects by sector for national, state, and local economies. Users can also view year-by-year trend data. The interactive tool and report are available at http://www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/vse.htm.
To learn more about national parks in Pennsylvania and how the National Park Service works with Pennsylvania communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, readers may visit http://www.nps.gov/PA.
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