Grand Teton National Park Creates $796 Million in Local Economic Benefits

A recent National Park Service report shows that in 2019, 3.4 million park visitors spent an estimated $630 million in local gateway regions while visiting Grand Teton National Park. These expenditures supported a total of 8,640 jobs, $275 million in labor income, $463 million in value added, and $796 million in economic output in local gateway economies surrounding Grand Teton National Park.

“We recognize Grand Teton National Park's important role as an economic driver in the state of Wyoming,” said Acting Superintendent Gopaul Noojibail. “This is a special place and we greatly appreciate our local and state partners that help serve our visitors and protect the park’s iconic resources for future generations.”

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 $21 billion of direct spending by more than 327 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 340,500 jobs nationally; 278,000 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $41.7 billion.

Nationally, lodging expenses account for the largest share of visitor spending, about $7.1 billion in 2019. The restaurant sector had the next greatest effects with $4.2 billion in economic output. Motor vehicle fuel expenditures were $2.16 billion with retail spending at $1.93 billion.

Visitor spending on lodging supported more than 58,000 jobs and more than 61,000 jobs in restaurants. Visitor spending in the recreation industries supported more than 28,000 jobs and spending in retail supported more than 20,000 jobs.

The 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 National Park Service Social Science Program webpage at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/vse.htm.

There are several sites affiliated or managed by the National Park Service in Wyoming, including Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area; Devils Tower National Monument; Fort Laramie National Historic Site; Fossil Butte National Monument; Grand Teton National Park; John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway; and Yellowstone National Park. Visit www.nps.gov/Wyoming to learn more about national parks in Wyoming and how the National Park Service works with local communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation.

With more than 240 miles of trails meandering throughout the park, hiking is the absolute best way to see Grand Teton National Park. In addition to the hikes listed above, the park offers a wide variety of outstanding hikes that take-in the best scenery the Tetons have to offer. If you do plan to visit Grand Teton this year, please note that our hiking website also offers a wide variety of accommodation listings and other things to do to help with all your trip planning.



Jeff
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