News Release

Tourism to White Sands National Park creates $55,724,000 in Economic Benefits

Date: July 1, 2022
Contact: Kelly Carroll, 575-479-6124 ext. 230

ALAMOGORDO – A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 782,469 visitors to White Sands National Park in 2021 spent $46,418,000 in communities near the park. That spending supported 630 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $55,724,000.

“National parks are a vital part of our nation’s economy, especially for park gateway communities where millions of visitors each year find a place to sleep and eat, hire outfitters and guides and make use of other local services that help drive a vibrant tourism and outdoor recreation industry,” said Superintendent Marie Sauter. “At White Sands, we are excited to share its stories and the experiences it provides. We also feature the park as a way to introduce our visitors to this part of the country and all that it offers.”

The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists at the National Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. The report shows $20.5 billion of direct spending by more than 297 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 322,600 jobs nationally; 269,900 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. 

The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $42.5 billion. As for the economics of visitor spending, the lodging sector had the highest direct effects, with $7 billion in economic output nationally. The restaurants sector had the second greatest effects, with $4.2 billion in economic output nationally.

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 communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, go to www.nps.gov/NEWMEXICO.

 

www.nps.gov/whitesands

More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 423 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities.