News Release

Tourism to CRNRA Contributes $160 Million to Local Economy

Date: August 22, 2023
Contact: Ann Honious, [e-mail]

Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area News Release

Tourism to Chattahoochee River NRA contributes over $176 million to local economy
Report shows visitor spending supports 2,372 jobs in nearby communities

SANDY SPRINGS, GA – A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 3,537,848 visitors to
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in 2022 spent $176,660,000 in communities near the
park. That spending supported 2,372 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the
local economy of $259,566,000.

“Since 1916, the National Park Service has been entrusted with the care of our national parks. With
the help of volunteers and partners, we safeguard these special places and share their stories with
more than 300 million visitors every year. The impact of tourism to national parks is undeniable:
bringing jobs and revenue to communities in every state in the country and making national parks an
essential driver to the national economy,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams.

“Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area provides great opportunities for outdoor recreation
in the Atlanta region and attracts many out-of-town visitors,” said Superintendent Ann Honious. “We
recognize that this tourism is a critical driver to the local economy, creating an over $259
million in cumulative benefit. This results in 2,372 jobs.”

The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists at the National Park
Service. The report shows $23.9 billion of direct spending by nearly 312 million park visitors in
communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 378,400 jobs nationally;
314,600 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S.
economy was $50.3 billion.

As for the economics of visitor spending, the lodging sector had the highest direct effects, with
$9 billion in economic output nationally. The restaurants sector was had the second greatest
effects, with $4.6 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: Visitor Spending Effects - Economic
Contributions of National Park Visitor Spending - Social Science (U.S. National Park Service)
(nps.gov).

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



www.nps.gov

About the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. Designated as a unit of the National Park
System in 1978, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area preserves and protects the natural and
cultural resources of the 48-mile Chattahoochee River corridor from Buford Dam to Peachtree Creek.
The park annually welcomes over 3,000,000 visitors. Learn more at www.nps.gov/chat, and on Facebook
and Instagram.

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for
America’s 425 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local
history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.