News Release

Tourism to Park Sites Creates Economic Benefits

Date: June 1, 2018
Contact: Libby Schaaf, 520-824-3560 x9307

COCHISE COUNTY, ARIZONA – A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 203,238 visitors to the national parks in southeast Arizona in 2017 spent $11,661,000 in communities near the parks. That spending supported 173 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the localeconomy of $13,805,200.

“We welcome visitors from across the country and around the world,” said Superintendent Allen Etheridge. “We are delighted to share the stories of these places and the experiences they provide. We also feature these parks as a way to introduce our visitors to Cochise County and all that it offers. National park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy, returning $10 for every $1 invested in the National Park Service, and it’s a big factor in our local economy as well. We appreciate the partnership and support of our neighbors and are glad to be able to give back by helping to sustain local communities.”
The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists Catherine Cullinane Thomas of the U.S. Geological Survey and Lynne Koontz of the National Park Service. The report shows $18.2 billion of direct spending by more than 330 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 306,000 jobs nationally; 255,900 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $35.8 billion.
The lodging sector received the highest direct contributions with $5.5 billion in economic output to local gateway economies and 49,000 jobs. The restaurants sector received the next greatest direct contributions with $3.7 billion in economic output to local gateway economies and 60,500 jobs.
 
According to the 2017 report, most park visitor spending was for lodging/camping (32.9 percent) followed by food and beverages (27.5 percent), gas and oil (12.1 percent), souvenirs and other expenses (10.1 percent), admissions and fees (10.0 percent), and local transportation (7.5 percent).
 
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 the 22 national parks in Arizona and how the National Park Service works with local communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, go to www.nps.gov/arizona.