News Release

Pipestone National Monument creates $5.7 million in economic output

Date: May 7, 2018
Contact: Lauren Blacik, 507-825-5464 ext. 211

Pipestone National Monument News Release
For Immediate Release: 5/7/2018
Contact: Lauren Blacik           email: e-mail us              Telephone: [phone] ext. 211

Tourism to Pipestone National Monument creates $5.7 million in economic output
Pipestone, MN – A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 76,500 visitors to Pipestone National Monument in 2017 spent 4.4 million in local gateway regions near the park. That spending supported 68 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $5.7 million.

 “Pipestone National Monument welcomes visitors from across the country and around the world to experience this special place. The park also introduces many visitors to the region and all that it offers,” said Acting Superintendent Lauren Blacik. “National park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy, returning more than $10 for every $1 invested in the National Park Service, and it’s a big factor in our local economy as well. We appreciate the partnership and support of our neighbors and are glad to be able to give back by helping to sustain local communities.”

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 $18.2 billion of direct spending by more than 330 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 306,000 jobs nationally; 255,900 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $35.8 billion.

According to the 2017 report, most park visitor spending was for lodging/camping (32.9 percent) followed by food and beverages (27.5 percent), gas and oil (12.1 percent), souvenirs and other expenses (10.1 percent), admissions and fees (10.0 percent), and local transportation (7.5 percent).

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 Minnesota and how the National Park Service works with communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, go to https://www.nps.gov/Minnesota.

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for the 417 parks in the National Park System and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov, on Facebook www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice, Twitter www.twitter.com/natlparkservice, and YouTube www.youtube.com/nationalparkservice.