UTAH, Aug. 21, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A new National Park Service report shows that 13,554,654 visitors to national parks in Utah spent $1,656,100,000 in the state in 2022.
That spending resulted in 23,312 jobs and had a cumulative benefit to the state economy of $2,597,700,000, according to a National Park Service statement released Monday.
“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,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams.
“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.”
Regional Director Kate Hammond said Utah national parks offer a lot to visitors.
“Every park in the state offers unique experiences, from learning about history up-close to diverse outdoor recreational opportunities,” Hammond said. “There’s something for everyone to see and enjoy.”
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 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 Utah, visit to Utah (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).
