Date: April 20, 2017
U.S. Department of the Interior
LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA News Release
For Immediate Release: April 20, 2017
Release No.: 2017-16
Contact: 702-283-2344
TOURISM TO LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA CREATES $312.6 MILLION IN ECONOMIC BENEFITS
BOULDER CITY, Nevada – A new National Park Service report shows that 7.2 million visitors to Lake Mead National Recreation Area in 2016 spent $312.6 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 4,172 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $369 million.
“Lake Mead National Recreation Area welcomes visitors from across the country and around the world,” said Superintendent Lizette Richardson. “We are delighted to share the story of America’s most diverse national recreation area and the enjoyable experiences it provides.
“National park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy, returning more than $10 for every $1 invested in the National Park Service, and it’s a big factor in our local economy as well,” she added. “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 $18.4 billion of direct spending by 331 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 318,000 jobs nationally; 271,544 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $ 34.9 billion.
According to the 2016 report, most park visitor spending was for lodging (31.2 percent) followed by food and beverages (27.2 percent), gas and oil (11.7 percent), admissions and fees (10.2 percent), souvenirs and other expenses (9.7 percent), local transportation (7.4 percent), and camping fees (2.5 percent).
Report authors this year produced an interactive tool. Users can explore current year 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: go.nps.gov/vse.
The report includes information for visitor spending at individual parks and by state.
To learn more about national parks in Nevada and Arizona and how the National Park Service works with Nevada and Arizona communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, go to www.nps.gov/nevada or www.nps.gov/arizona.
Top 10: Visitor spending in units of the National Park System (2016)
- Blue Ridge Parkway: $979.3 million
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park: $942.7 million
- Grand Canyon National Park: $648.1 million*
- Denali National Park and Preserve: $604.8 million
- Grand Teton National Park: $597.2 million*
- Yellowstone National Park: $524.3 million*
- Yosemite National Park: $520.6 million*
- Golden Gate National Recreation Area: $392.1 million
- Lake Mead National Recreation Area: $312.6 million
- Rocky Mountain National Park: $298.7 million*
*For these parks, results are based on a visitor survey at the designated park. For other parks, visitor characteristics and spending averages are adapted from national averages for each park type.
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