Date: May 2, 2017
Contact: John Kelly, 207-288-8703
BAR HARBOR, MAINE – A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that Acadia National Park’s 3.3 million visits in 2016 resulted in $274 million in total visitor spending in the local region. That spending supported about 4,200 jobs and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $333 million.
“Acadia National Park’s extraordinary beauty and recreational opportunities attracted a record number of visitors in 2016 making it the eighth most-visited national park in the country,” said Superintendent Kevin Schneider. “We value our relationship with the neighboring communities and appreciate the services and amenities they provide to park visitors.”
The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists Catherine Cullinane Thomas of the U.S. Geological Survey and Lynne Koontz of the NPS. The report shows $18.4 billion of direct spending by 331 million park visitors in counties within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 318,000 jobs nationally with about 272,000 of those jobs located in gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was about $35 billion. Tourism to national parks returns more than $10 to the national economy for every $1 invested in the NPS.
According to the 2016 report, most park visitor spending was for lodging (31 percent) followed by food and beverages (27 percent), gas and oil (12 percent), admissions and fees (10 percent), souvenirs and other expenses (10 percent), local transportation (7 percent), and camping fees (3 percent).
The 2016 National Park Visitor Spending Effects report and an interactive tool are available online at: go.nps.gov/vse. The interactive tool allows users to explore current-year 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 report includes information for visitor spending at individual parks and by state.
To learn more about national parks in Maine and how the NPS works with communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, please visit www.nps.gov/maine.
