News Release

National park tourism in Washington, D.C., contributes $1.14 billion to D.C. economy

Two kids looking across the Reflecting Pool at the Washington Monument

NPS / Victoria Stauffenberg

News Release Date: August 21, 2023

Contact: Chelsea Sullivan, 202-619-7177

WASHINGTON – A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 39,440,786 visitors to national parks in Washington, D.C., spent $973,000,000 in D.C. in 2022. That spending resulted in 9,140 jobs and had a cumulative benefit to D.C.’s economy of $1,144,400,000. 

“Since 1916, the National Park Service has been entrusted with the care of our national parks. With the help of volunteers and partners, we safeguard these special places and share their stories with more than 300 million visitors every year. The impact of tourism to national parks is undeniable: bringing jobs and revenue to communities in every state in the country and making national parks an essential driver to the national economy,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams.    

“Millions of people travel to Washington, D.C., each year to experience its monuments and memorials, historic landmarks and natural beauty,” NPS National Capital Regional Director Kym Hall, said. “Whether people visit to have fun, learn, reflect or simply relax, the money they spend supports more than 9,000 jobs and contributes $1.14 billion to D.C.’s economy.” 

National parks in Washington, D.C., include National Mall and Memorial Parks, Rock Creek Park, The White House and President’s Park and Anacostia Park.  

The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists at the NPS. The report shows $23.9 billion of direct spending by nearly 312 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 378,400 jobs nationally; 314,600 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $50.3 billion.  

As for the economics of visitor spending, the lodging sector had the highest direct effects, with $9 billion in economic output nationally. The restaurants sector was had the second greatest effects, with $4.6 billion in economic output nationally. 

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: Visitor Spending Effects - Economic Contributions of National Park Visitor Spending - Social Science (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) 

To learn more about national parks in Washington, D.C., and how the National Park Service works with communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment and provide outdoor recreation, go to District of Columbia (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov). 
 

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