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Contact: BG Horvat, 252-838-8906
HARKERS ISLAND, NC – – A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 562,461 visitors to Cape Lookout National Seashore in 2021 spent $27,621,000 in communities near the park. That spending supported 357 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $30,694,000.
“We were able to keep most of the park open and functioning throughout another big year of the pandemic,” said Superintendent Jeff West. “Cape Lookout continued to support our local economy when it was needed the most and offered a refuge and a place for recharging for many visitors.”
The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists at the National Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. The report shows $20.5 billion of direct spending by more than 297 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 322,600 jobs nationally; 269,900 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $42.5 billion.
As for the economics of visitor spending, the lodging sector had the highest direct effects, with $7 billion in economic output nationally. The restaurants sector was had the second greatest effects, with $4.2 billion in economic output nationally.
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 North Carolina and how the National Park Service works with North Carolina communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, go to www.nps.gov/NORTHCAROLINA.
Last updated: June 24, 2022