News Release

Tourism to the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park creates over $19 Million in Economic Benefit

Date: June 15, 2020
Contact: Stacy Humphreys, 270-217-2334

Report shows visitor spending supports 210 jobs in local economy

Hodgenville, KY – A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 238,225 visitors to the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park in 2019 spent $14,169,000 in communities near the park. That spending supported 210 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $19,136,000.

“Abraham Lincoln Birthplace remained open and is now safely increasing access to the park’s Visitor Center and services. We were pleased that the park could safely support individual and collective physical and mental wellness during the pandemic,” said Superintendent Catherine Bragaw. “We are happy to see more visitors in the park and are excited to share the story of this place and the experiences it provides. We feature the park as both a gateway and opportunity to introduce visitors to this part of the country abounding with natural beauty and inspirational history.”

The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists Catherine Cullinane Thomas of the U.S. Geological Survey and Lynne Koontz of the National Park Service. The report shows $21 billion of direct spending by more than 327 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 340,500 jobs nationally; 278,000 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $41.7 billion.

Lodging expenses account for the largest share of visitor spending, about $7.1 billion in 2019. The restaurant sector had the next greatest effects with $4.2 billion in economic output. Motor vehicle fuel expenditures were $2.16 billion with retail spending at $1.93 billion.

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 the NPS Social Science Program webpage: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/vse.htm

To learn more about national parks in Kentucky and how the National Park Service works with Kentucky communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, go to https://www.nps.gov/state/ky/index.htm.