News Release

Tourism to Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park contributes $72.1 million to local economy

NPS Photo

News Release Date: August 25, 2023

Contact: Beth Parnicza, 540-693-3200

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 756,000 visitors to Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park in 2022 spent $49.9 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 617 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $72.1 million.

“The National Park Service is at its best at the intersection of story and place. We tell compelling stories in the compelling places where they actually occurred. This makes us unique among places to visit and draws visitors from all over the world,” said Superintendent Lewis Rogers. “We recognize that this tourism is a critical driver to the local economy, bringing 617 jobs and $72.1 million in revenue to communities within 60 miles of the park.”

“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. 

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.

To learn more about national parks in Virginia and how the National Park Service works with state name communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, visit the Virginia page on NPS.gov.