MOOSE, Wyo.— Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) recently released data from a new National Park Service report.
According to the report, in 2020, about 3.3 million people visited Grand Teton National Park, spending over $598 million in communities near the park.
That spending supported almost 8,200 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $754 million.
“Grand Teton National Park safely provided a respite for many visitors in light of the pandemic in 2020,” said Grand Teton National Park Superintendent Chip Jenkins. Jenkins said, “The iconic landscape, wildlife and historic structures supported the physical and mental wellness of our community and visitors, as well as continued to be an economic driver for the state and region.”
The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists with the National Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey.
In GTNP gateway communities, the majority of visitor spending was in the lodging and restaurant sectors. Camping accounted for the least amount of spending at only 4%.
Nationally
The report shows $14.5 billion of direct spending by more than 237 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 234,000 jobs nationally; 194,400 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $28.6 billion.
According to the report, the lodging sector had the highest direct effects, with $5 billion in economic output. The restaurant sector was responsible for $3 billion in economic output. Visitor spending on lodging supported more than 43,100 jobs and more than 45,900 jobs in restaurants. Visitor spending in the recreation industries supported more than 18,100 jobs and spending in retail supported more than 14,300 jobs.
