News Release

Tourism at greater Washington area national parks creates $1.58 billion in economic benefit

Hiker views Harpers Ferry National Historical Park from the Maryland Heights Trail

NPSPhoto/Volunteer E. Hartlaub

News Release Date: May 28, 2019

Contact: Katie Liming, 202-619-7156

A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 54 million visitors to national parks in and around the nation’s capital spent nearly $1.1 billion in 2018. That spending resulted in 14,984 jobs and had a cumulative benefit to the regional economy of $1.58 billion.

“National parks in the greater Washington area draw millions of visitors from across the country and around the world each year,” Acting NPS National Capital Regional Director Lisa Mendelson-Ielmini said. “Whether they’re hiking at Rock Creek Park, retracing history at Antietam National Battlefield or exploring Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, visitors come to the area’s national parks for unique adventures and make important contributions to local economies along the way.”

The report shows that national park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy - returning $10 for every $1 invested in the National Park Service.

The report includes the following parks in D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia:

• Antietam National Battlefield (Maryland)

• Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial (Virginia)

• Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument (District of Columbia)

• Catoctin Mountain Park (Maryland)

• Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park (District of Columbia, Maryland and West Virginia)

• Clara Barton National Historic Site (Maryland)

• Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site (District of Columbia)

• Fort Washington Park (Maryland)

• Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial (District of Columbia)

• Frederick Douglass National Historic Site (District of Columbia)

• George Washington Memorial Parkway (District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia)

• Greenbelt Park (Maryland)

• Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia)

• Korean War Veterans Memorial (District of Columbia)

• Lincoln Memorial (District of Columbia)

• Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac (District of Columbia)

• Manassas National Battlefield Park (Virginia)

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial (District of Columbia)

• Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site (District of Columbia)

• Monocacy National Battlefield (Maryland)

• National Capital Parks - East (District of Columbia and Maryland)

• National Mall & Memorial Parks (District of Columbia, some monuments and memorials listed separately)

• Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site (District of Columbia)

• Piscataway Park (Maryland)

• President's Park (District of Columbia)

• Prince William Forest Park (Virginia)

• Rock Creek Park (District of Columbia)

• Theodore Roosevelt Island (District of Columbia)

• Thomas Jefferson Memorial (District of Columbia)

• Vietnam Veterans Memorial (District of Columbia)

• Washington Monument (District of Columbia)

• Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (Virginia)

• World War II Memorial (District of Columbia)

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. Across the country, the report 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. 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 supported more than 58,000 jobs in lodging 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.

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 the national capital region and how the National Park Service works with communities in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia to help preserve local history, conserve the environment and provide outdoor recreation, go to https://www.nps.gov/locations/dc/parks.htm.