A new National Park Service report shows that 10,276,078 visitors to national parks in Arizona spent $1,151,700,000 in the state in 2022. That spending resulted in 16,418 jobs and had a cumulative benefit to the state economy of $1,880,100,000.
“Since 1916, the National Park Service has been entrusted with the care of our national parks. With the help of volunteers and partners, we safeguard these special places and share their stories with more than 300 million visitors every year,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. “The impact of tourism to national parks is undeniable: bringing jobs and revenue to communities in every state in the country and making national parks an essential driver to the national economy.”
The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists at the National Park Service. The report shows $23.9 billion of direct spending by nearly 312 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 378,400 jobs nationally; 314,600 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $50.3 billion.
As for the economics of visitor spending, the lodging sector had the highest direct effects, with $9 billion in economic output nationally. The restaurants sector had the second greatest effects, with $4.6 billion in economic output nationally.
“Visitors in 2022 to national parks in Arizona spent $1,151,700,000 and supported 16,418 jobs in local communities,” said National Park Service Regional Director Kate Hammond. “Every park in the state offers unique experiences, from learning about history up-close to diverse outdoor recreational opportunities. There’s something for everyone to see and enjoy.”
The national parks in Arizona are:
- Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail
- Canyon De Chelly National Monument
- Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
- Chiricahua National Monument
- Coronado National Memorial
- Fort Bowie National Historic Site
- Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
- Grand Canyon National Park
- Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument
- Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site
- Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail
- Lake Mead National Recreation Area
- Montezuma Castle National Monument
- Navajo National Monument
- Old Spanish National Historic Trail
- Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
- Petrified Forest National Park
- Pipe Spring National Monument
- Saguaro National Park
- Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
- Tonto National Monument
- Tumacácori National Historical Park
- Tuzigoot National Monument
- Walnut Canyon National Monument
- Wupatki National Monument
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 NPS Social Science Program website: Visitor Spending Effects - Economic Contributions of National Park Visitor Spending - Social Science (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).
To learn more about national parks in Arizona and how the National Park Service works with Arizona communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment and provide outdoor recreation, go to Arizona (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).
