A new report released Monday by the National Park Service shows that spending by visitors to Grand Canyon National Park supported nearly 10,000 jobs and over $1 billion in economic output in 2022.
The report release in August 2023 found that the park’s 4.7 million visitors last year spent an estimated $759 million in communities near the park. This spending supported 9,990 jobs and had a total economic impact of $1 billion in the Grand Canyon region.
The visitor spending analysis is part of a larger National Park Service study on the economics of national parks. The report shows that spending by over 312 million visitors to national parks in 2022 contributed $50.3 billion to the U.S. economy and supported over 378,000 jobs nationwide.
“Grand Canyon National Park continues to be an economic linchpin for local communities and the region surrounding the park,” said Grand Canyon Superintendent Ed Keable. “We continue to heavily rely on the support of our neighbors and are proud to be able to help sustain local communities for many years to come.”
The economic analysis underpinning the report was conducted by economists at the National Park Service and U.S. Geological Survey. Their research found that the 312 million national park visitors in 2022 directly spent $23.9 billion in communities within 60 miles of parks.
This spending supported a total of 378,000 jobs nationwide, with 314,600 of those jobs in gateway communities near the parks. Overall, the study concluded that national park visitor spending contributed $50.3 billion in economic benefit to the U.S. economy last year.
According to the National Park Service, the economic contributions of national park visitors highlights the importance of continued investment in protecting these public lands.
The full report and accompanying interactive tools are available on the National Park Service website: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/vse.htm
