Date: January 20, 2015
Contact: Richard Ullmann, 928-524-6228 x 245
Petrified Forest, AZ —Final statistics of yearly visitation for Petrified Forest National Park have been tallied, and the numbers are impressive! In 2014 the park welcomed 836,799 visitors, up 29.8% from last year (644,648 visitors in 2013).This marks the largest number of visitors to the park since 1995, and the largest percentage increase in one year since the mid-1950s.
In addition, new visitation records were set for the months of October (105,324 visitors) and December (35,291 visitors).
Multiple reasons can likely be attributed for this trend to include mild weather, lower gas prices, an improving economy, continued positive reviews on travel websites, and new opportunities to experience and enjoy the park.
"We hope and believe that some of the things we are doing to be more welcoming are also playing a role in these remarkable numbers," says Brad Traver, superintendent of Petrified Forest National Park. "We are also happy that the park continues to be a growing economic engine for our surrounding communities," he added.
This increased visitation is particularly noteworthy as the National Park Service prepares to celebrate its centennial in 2016. As such, Petrified Forest National Park is preparing to offer special programs and events to commemorate this major milestone as it nears. National Park Service visitation statistics can be found at https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/.
