News Release

Tourism to Golden Gate NRA, Muir Woods NM, and Fort Point NHS creates 1.6 billion in Economic Benefits

Fort Point National Historic Site saw 1.4 million visitors in 2019.

NPS photo

News Release Date: June 18, 2020 SAN FRANCISCO—In 2019, more than 17.2 million visitors visited Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument and Fort Point National Historic Site, and spent $1.2 billion in communities near the parks, according to a recent National Park Service (NPS) report. 

“We have been safely increasing access to Golden Gate National Recreation Area, one park in the national system of parks that support individual and collective physical and mental wellness,” said Superintendent Laura E. Joss. “We welcome people back to the park and are excited to share the story of this place and the experiences it provides. We also feature the park as a way to introduce our visitors to this part of the country and all that it offers.”

This spending supported 12,513 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $1.6 billion. 

Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the most visited unit of the national park system in the nation, hosted 15 million visitors who spent more than $1 billion in nearby communities, supporting 10,606 jobs, with a benefit to the local economy of nearly $1.4 billion. 

The 1.4 million visitors to Fort Point National Historic Site spent $84.5 million, supported 991 jobs, and had a cumulative benefit of $116 million. Iconic Muir Woods National Monument saw more than 800,000 visitors, who spent $92 million in gateway communities to contribute 916 local jobs and $125 million in economic output in these 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 $21 billion of direct spending by more than 327 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 340,500 jobs nationally; 278,000 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $41.7 billion. 

Lodging expenses account for the largest share of visitor spending, about $7.1 billion in 2019. The restaurant sector had the next greatest effects with $4.2 billion in economic output. Motor vehicle fuel expenditures were $2.16 billion with retail spending at $1.93 billion. 

Visitor spending on lodging supported more than 58,000 jobs and more than 61,000 jobs in restaurants. Visitor spending in the recreation industries supported more than 28,000 jobs and spending in retail supported more than 20,000 jobs. 

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 California and how the National Park Service works with communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, go to https://www.nps.gov/state/ca/index.htm.