News Release

Economic Benefits of Northern New Mexico National Park Units

Date: June 29, 2020
Contact: Becky Latanich, 505-757-7210

Northern New Mexico – A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 255,637 visitors to Bandelier National Monument, Fort Union National Monument and Pecos National Historical Park in 2019 spent $16,113,000 in communities near these parks. That spending supported 231 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $20,661,000.

“The National Park Service has been slowly and safely increasing access to Bandelier National Monument, Pecos National Historical Park, and Fort Union National Monument, three parks in the national system of parks in the local Santa Fe area that support individual and collective physical and mental wellness,” said Pecos National Historical Park Superintendent Karl Cordova. “We welcome people back to these parks and we are excited to share the story of these places and the experiences they provide. We also feature these parks as a way to introduce our visitors to this part of the country and all that they offer.”

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 $21 billion of direct spending by more than 327 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 340,500 jobs nationally; 278,000 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $41.7 billion.

Lodging expenses account for the largest share of -visitor spending, about $7.1 billion in 2019. The restaurant sector had the next greatest effects with $4.2 billion in economic output. Motor vehicle fuel expenditures were $2.16 billion with retail spending at $1.93 billion.

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.

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: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/vse.htm

To learn more about national parks in New Mexico and how the National Park Service works with New Mexico’s communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, go to www.nps.gov/newmexico.