Date: April 27, 2015
Contact: John Kelly, 207-288-8703
A new National Park Service report shows that 2.56 million visitors to Acadia National Park in 2014 spent $221 million in communities near the park. That spending supported an estimated 3,486 jobs and had a total economic benefit of $271 million in the local area.
"Like other national park areas, Acadia welcomes visitors from across the country and around the world. We are delighted to share the report describing how national park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy, returning $10 for every $1 invested in the National Park Service. This is reflected locally in gateway communities that provide amenities and essential services to park visitors," said Superintendent Sheridan Steele.
U.S. Geological Survey economists, Catherine Cullinane Thomas and Christopher Huber, and National Park Service economist, Lynne Koontz conducted the peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis. Nationally, the report shows $15.7 billion of direct spending by 293 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 277,000 jobs nationally with a cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy of $29.7 billion. According to the report, most national park visitor spending was for lodging (30.6%) followed by food and beverages (20.3%), gas and oil (11.9%), admissions and fees (10.2%), and souvenirs and other expenses (9.9%).
To download the report, please visit https://www.nature.nps.gov/socialscience/economics.cfm
