Tourism to national park service sites in Philadelphia creates 195 million in economic benefit

Subscribe RSS Icon | What is RSS
Date: March 3, 2014
Contact: Jane Cowley, 215-597-0060

PHILADELPHIA– A new National Park Service report shows that 3,615,698 visitors to Independence National Historical Park, the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site and the Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial in 2012 spent $195 million in communities near the parks. That spending supported 2,736 jobs in the local area.

"Independence National Historical Park is proud to welcome millions of visitors annually from across the country and around the world," said Superintendent Cynthia MacLeod, who manages the national park sites in Philadelphia. "We are delighted to share the story of these places and to use the parks as a way to introduce our visitors to this part of the country 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 our partnerships and our neighbors and are pleased that our visitors provide economic benefit to the great city of Philadelphia."

The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by U.S. Geological Survey economists Catherine Cullinane Thomas and Christopher Huber and Lynne Koontz for the National Park Service. The report shows $14.7 billion of direct spending by 283 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 243,000 jobs nationally, with 201,000 jobs found in these gateway communities, and had a cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy of $26.75 billion.

According to the report most visitor spending supports jobs in restaurants, grocery and convenience stores (39 percent), hotels, motels and B&Bs (27 percent), and other amusement and recreation (20 percent).

To download the report, visit https://www.nature.nps.gov/socialscience/economics.cfm.The report includes information for visitor spending at individual parks and by state.

Please visit the following link for b-roll prepared by the National Park Service:  https://www.nps.gov/news/econ_b-roll.htm

To learn more about national parks in Pennsylvania and how the National Park Service works with Pennsylvania communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide

outdoor recreation, go to www.nps.gov/Pennsylvania.

 

www.nps.gov/inde

A unit of the National Park Service, Independence National Historical Park was created by an Act of Congress on June 28, 1948.Accredited by the American Association of Museums, Independence NHP covers almost 54 acres in Philadelphia's Old City, and includes Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Congress Hall, Franklin Court, and other historic buildings associated with the founding of the United States. The park is open from 9:00 am daily with the exception of Christmas day.A visit to Independence National Historical Park should start at the Independence Visitor Center, located at 6th and Market Streets.Here, visitors can pick up a park brochure, park map, and the free, timed tickets required for Independence Hall.For more information visit the park's website, https://www.nps.gov/indeor follow us at twitter.com/independencenhp.



Last updated: February 26, 2015

Park footer

Contact Info

Mailing Address:

143 S. 3rd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Phone:

215-965-2305

Contact Us