News Release

2018 Tourism to Mesa Verde Creates $72.4 Million in Local Economic Benefits

Date: May 23, 2019
Contact: Cristy Brown, 970-529-4608

A new National Park Service report shows that 563,420 visitors to Mesa Verde in 2018 spent $58.5 Million in communities near the park. That spending supported 828 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $72.4 million.
 
“Mesa Verde welcomes visitors from across the country and around the world,” said Superintendent Cliff Spencer. “We appreciate the opportunity to share the story of the Ancestral Pueblo people and all that Mesa Verde has to offer. The fires last summer had an affect on the local communities and economy, but we are looking forward to a successful summer season this year.  We appreciate the partnership and support of our neighbors, especially during the partial government shutdown last winter, and we are happy to be able to give back by helping to sustain local communities.”
 
The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis, conducted by economists Catherine Cullinane Thomas and Egan Cornachione of the U.S. Geological Survey and Lynne Koontz of the National Park Service, shows $20.2 billion of direct spending by more than 318 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 329,000 jobs nationally; 268,000 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $40.1 billion.
 
Lodging expenses account for the largest share of visitor spending, about $6.8 billion in 2018, and supported more than 58,000 jobs. Food expenses are the second largest spending area and visitors spent $4 billion in restaurants and bars, supporting more than 61,000 jobs, and another $1.4 billion at grocery and convenience stores. Visitor spending in recreational industries supported more than 28,000 jobs and spending in retail supported more than 20,000 jobs.
 
Report authors also produced 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 Colorado and how the National Park Service works with Colorado communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, go to www.nps.gov/colorado.
 

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