PHILADELPHIA — A new National Park Service report shows that nearly five million visitors to national parks in New Jersey spent $160,500,000 in the state in 2016. That spending resulted in 2,368 jobs and had a cumulative benefit to the state economy of $221,900,000.
“The national parks of the Garden State attract visitors from across the street and across the world,” NPS Northeast Region acting Director Joshua Laird said in a press release. “Whether seeking nature or culture, adventure or respite, people from all walks of life travel to national parks for great experiences and spend money along the way. This new report shows that investing in the National Park Service yields big returns for both local and national economies, with every dollar spent on NPS sites bringing $10 in revenue. National Parks are job creators here in New Jersey and across the nation.”
Several NPS sites entirely or partially lie within state boundaries, including Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in New Jersey and Pennsylvania; more than half of Ellis Island, part of Statue of Liberty National Monument; Gateway National Recreation Area in Monmouth County; Morristown National Historical Park; Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park; and Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange.
The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists Catherine Cullinane Thomas of the U.S. Geological Survey and Lynne Koontz of the National Park Service. The report shows $18.4 billion of direct spending by 331 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 318,000 jobs nationally; 271,544,000 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $34.9 billion.
According to the 2016 report, most park visitor spending was for lodging at 31.2 percent followed by food and beverages at 27.2 percent, gas and oil at 11.7 percent, admissions and fees at 10.2 percent, souvenirs and other expenses at 9.7 percent, local transportation at 7.4 percent, and camping fees at 2.5 percent.
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