Park visitors spent $432.1 million last year

According to a recent National Park Service report, the 4.5 million visitors to national parks in Montana last year spent $432.1 million in Montana. That spending supported 7,604 jobs and had a cumulative benefit to the state economy of $599.7 million. It also represents an 8.7 percent increase in spending and 7.2 percent rise in visitation over 2013.

Montana’s five national parks include Glacier and Yellowstone national parks, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, and Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. According to the report, the 2.3 million visitors who came to Glacier Park in 2014 spent $193 million in nearaby communities. That spending supported 3,405 jobs in the local area.

The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by U.S. Geological Survey economists Catherine Cullinane Thomas and Christopher Huber and NPS economist Lynne Koontz.

Spending by visitors to national parks is a significant driver for the national economy as well. It is estimated that for every $1 invested in the National Park Service, there is a $10 return to the U.S. economy.

Nationally, the report shows that a record 292.8 million park visitors directly spent $15.7 billion in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 277,000 jobs, 235,600 of them in those “gateway” communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $29.7 billion.

According to the 2014 report, 30.6 percent of park visitor spending went to lodging, 20.3 percent went to food and beverages, 11.9 percent went to gas and oil, 10.2 percent went to admissions and fees, 9.9 percent went to and souvenirs and other expenses. To download the report, visit online at www.nature.nps.gov/socialscience/economics.cfm.