News Release

Tourism to Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site Creates $5.1 million in Annual Economic Benefits

Approaching the mansion from Brattle Street.

NPS Photo

News Release Date: May 30, 2019

Contact: Chris Beagan, [phone]

Tourism to Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site Creates $5.1 Million in Annual Economic Benefits

Cambridge, MA – A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 60,500 visitors to Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site in 2018 spent $3.6 in communities near the park. That spending supported 47 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $5.1 million.

“Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site welcomes visitors from across the country and around the world,” said Superintendent Jason Newman. “We’re delighted to share the story of this important place. We also use the park to introduce visitors to the Cambridge area, and all that it offers. We appreciate the partnership and support of our neighbors, and are glad to be able to give back by helping to sustain local communities.”

National park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy, returning $10 for every $1 invested in the National Park Service. The new report shows $20.2 billion in direct spending by more than 318 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park across the country. This spending supported 329,000 jobs nationally; 268,000 of those jobs are in gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy in 2018 was $40.1 billion.

Lodging expenses account for the largest share of visitor spending, about $6.8 billion in 2018. Food expenses are the second largest spending area and visitors spent $4 billion in restaurants and bars and another $1.4 billion at grocery and convenience stores.

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.

The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists Catherine Cullinane Thomas and Egan Cornachione of the U.S. Geological Survey and Lynne Koontz of the National Park Service. Report authors produced an interactive tool to explore visitor spending, jobs, labor income, value added, and output effects by sector for national, state, and local economies. The interactive tool and report are available at the NPS Social Science Program webpage: www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/vse.htm

To learn more about Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site and how the National Park Service preserves local history, conserves the environment, and provides for outdoor recreation, go to www.nps.gov/long.