News Release

Tourism to Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park contributes $81,396,000 to local economy Report shows visitor spending supports 991 jobs in nearby communities

Date: August 21, 2023
Contact: Todd Milsaps, 706-866-9241, ext 141

Fort Oglethorpe, GA: A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 964,272 visitors to Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park in 2022 spent $63,644,000 in communities near the park.  That spending supported 905 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $81,396,000.

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.

“People come to Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park to learn the rich history of Native Americans, as well as the vast Civil War history of the Chattanooga area,” said Acting Superintendent Todd Milsaps.  “We recognize that this tourism is a critical driver to the local economy, bringing 905 jobs and $81,396,000 in revenue to communities within 60 miles of the park.”

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 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 Georgia and Tennessee and how the National Park Service works with Georgia and Tennessee communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, go to www.nps.gov/georgia or www.nps.gov/tennessee. 
www.nps.gov

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.