National Parks in Pennsylvania = Visitors, Money, and Jobs

Date: February 28, 2012
Contact: Rick Kendall, 215-597-0865

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 8,970,475 national park visitors in Pennsylvania in 2010 spent $356,706,000 and supported 5,497 jobs in the state.

"The people and the business owners in communities near national parks have always known their economic value," Northeast Regional Director Dennis Reidenbach said. "In Pennsylvania communities, national parks are clean, green fuel for the engine that drives the economy."

Most of the spending/jobs are related to lodging, food, and beverage service (52 percent) followed by other retail (29 percent), entertainment/amusements (10 percent), gas and local transportation (7 percent) and groceries (2 percent).

The figures are based on $12 billion of direct spending by 281 million visitors in 394 national parks and nearby communities and are included in an annual, peer-reviewed, visitor spending analysis conducted by Dr. Daniel Stynes of Michigan State University for the National Park Service.

The National Parks in Pennsylvania include: Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Edgar Allen Poe National Historic Site, Eisenhower National Historic Site, Flight 93 National Memorial, Fort Necessity National Battlefield, Friendship Hill National Historic Site, Gettysburg National Military Park, Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, Independence National Historical Park, Johnstown Flood National Memorial, Middle Delaware National Scenic River, Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, Steamtown National Historic Site, Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial, Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, and Valley Forge National Historical Park.

Across the U.S., local visitor spending added a total of $31 billion to the national economy and supported more than 258,000 jobs, an increase of $689 million and 11,500 jobs over 2009.

The report includes information for visitor spending at individual parks and by state.