News Release

Tourism to Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve and New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park contributes $20.3 million to local economy.

Date: August 23, 2023
Contact: Meredith Hardy, 504.382.0291

NEW ORLEANS – A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 270,000 visitors to Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in 2022 spent $17.8 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 247 jobs in the local area. At New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, 37,400 visitors spent $2.5 million in communities near the park and supported 34 local jobs.

“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 Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve and New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park to hike our trails, learn about the diverse histories, and experience one of our nation's original forms of music,” said Superintendent Charles Hunt. “We recognize that this tourism is a critical driver to the local economy, bringing 281 jobs and $20.3 million in revenue to communities within 60 miles of our parks across southern Louisiana.” 

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