National Park Service Outlines Indiana Impact
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA new report suggests more than 2 million visitors to the state's three national parks contributed $88.5 million to the economy in 2012. The National Park Service says visitor spending supported close to 1,300 Hoosier jobs over the course of that year. March 4, 2014
News Release
OMAHA, Neb. – A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 2,148,903 visitors to national parks in Indiana spent $88.5 million and supported 1,263 jobs in the state in 2012.
“The national parks of Indiana attract visitors from across the country and around the world and provide premiere historical, cultural, natural, and recreational experiences,” said NPS Midwest Regional Director Michael T. Reynolds. “This new report shows that national park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy – returning $10 for every $1 invested – and funding generated by national parks has a swift and direct positive impact on local economies in Indiana as well.”
The national parks in Indiana are: George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, Vincennes; Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Porter; and Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City.
The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by U.S. Geological Survey economists Catherine Cullinane Thomas and Christopher Huber and Lynne Koontz for the National Park Service. The report shows $14.7 billion of direct spending by 283 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 243,000 jobs nationally, with 201,000 jobs found in these gateway communities, and had a cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy of $26.75 billion.
According to the report most visitor spending supports jobs in restaurants, grocery and convenience stores (39 percent), hotels, motels and B&Bs (27 percent), and other amusement and recreation (20 percent).
To download the report visit http://www.nature.nps.gov/socialscience/economics.cfm.
The report includes information for visitor spending by park and by state.
To learn more about national parks in Indiana and how the National Park Service works with Indianacommunities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, go to www.nps.gov/INDIANA
www.nps.gov
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 401 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov, on Facebook www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice, Twitter www.twitter.com/natlparkservice, and YouTube www.youtube.com/nationalparkservice.
Source: The National Park Service