News Release:
State of the Economy Boosted From Visits To Alaska's National Parks
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through NPS's website.
National Park Service reports that 2.786 million visitors to national parks in Alaska spent nearly $1.3 billion in the state in 2017. That spending resulted in 18,903 jobs and had a cumulative benefit to the state economy of $1.89 billion. Alaska showed the second-highest level of visitor spending among all states. National Parks that were the cause include Denali National Park and Preserve, Sitka National Historical Park, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, and Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park to name a few.
"This new report by the NPS shows that national park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy, and is a big factor in our state’s economy, a result we can all support,” says NPS Regional Director Bert Frost, in a press release. 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. The lodging sector received the highest direct contributions with $5.5 billion in economic output to local gateway economies and 49,000 jobs. The restaurants sector -received the next greatest direct contributions with $3.7 billion in economic output to local gateway economies and 60,500 jobs. According to the 2017 report, most park visitor spending was for lodging/camping at 32.9 percent.
For the full press release by the National Park Service, Alaska Regional Office, click here.