2024 National Park Visitor Spending Effects: Economic Contributions to Local Communities, States, and the Nation
Flyr M, Stockmoe E, Cullinane Thomas C, Koontz L, Huber C. 2025. 2024 National Park Visitor Spending Effects: Economic Contributions to Local Communities, States, and the Nation. Science Report. NPS/SR—2025/353. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/2315417
The National Park Service (NPS) manages the Nation’s most iconic destinations that attract millions of visitors from across the Nation and around the world. Trip-related spending by NPS visitors generates and supports economic activity within park gateway communities. This report summarizes the annual economic contribution analysis that measures how NPS visitor spending cycles through local economies, generates business sales, and supports jobs and income. In 2024, the National Park System received 331.9 million recreation visits (up 2% from 2023). Visitors to national parks spent an estimated $29.0 billion in local gateway regions (up 10% from 2023). The estimated contribution of this spending to the national economy was 340,100 jobs, $18.8 billion in labor income, $33.7 billion in value added, and $56.3 billion in economic output. The lodging sector saw the highest direct effects, with $11.1 billion in economic output directly contributed to this sector nationally. Lodging was followed by the restaurants sector, which saw direct national contributions of $5.7 billion. Results from the Visitor Spending Effects report series are available online via an interactive tool. Users can explore current year visitor spending, jobs, labor income, value added, and economic output effects by sector for national, state, and local economies. The interactive tool is available at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/vse.htm.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Flyr, Matthew; Stockmoe, Evan; Cullinane Thomas, Catherine; Koontz, Lynne; Huber, Christopher
- Date of Issue
- 2025-09
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.36967/2315417
- Units
- EQD , NRSS