|
Contact: Denise Germann, 406 888 5838
A new National Park Service report shows that 1.85 million visitors in 2011 spent almost 98 million dollars in Glacier National Park and in communities near the park. That spending supported 1,386 jobs in the local area. "Glacier National Park has historically been an economic driver in the state and region," said Acting Glacier National Park Superintendent Kym Hall. "This report shows the positive economic impact that Glacier and other National Park Service Sites have on our local and national economy." The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by Yue Cui, Ed Mahoney, and Teresa Herbowicz of Michigan State University for the National Park Service. The report shows $13 billion of direct spending by 279 million national park visitors. The spending occurred in communities within 60 miles of a national park and supported 252,000 jobs, most of which are also in the communities near national parks. The visitor spending had a $30 billion impact on the entire U.S. economy. According to the report, most visitor spending supports jobs in lodging, food, and beverage service (63 percent) followed by recreation and entertainment (17 percent), other retail (11percent), transportation and fuel (7 percent) and wholesale and manufacturing (2 percent). To download the report visit https://www.nature.nps.gov/socialscience/products.cfm#MGM Montana National Park Service sites included in the report are Glacier National Park, Big Hole National Battlefield, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument and Yellowstone National Park. To learn more about national parks in Montana and how the National Park Service works with Montana communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment and provide outdoor recreation visit https://www.nps.gov/state/mt/index.htm?program=all. |
Last updated: February 24, 2015