National Park Tourism in Alaska Contributes $2.3B to State Economy
Visitors kayaking at Kenai Fjords National Park.
Photo Credit: National Park Service | Kenai Fjords image
The National Park Service reports that 3.3 million visitors to national parks in Alaska spent $1.5 billion in the state in 2023. That spending resulted in 21,274 jobs and had a cumulative benefit to the state economy of $2.3 billion.
“I’m so proud that our parks and the stories we tell make a lasting impact on more than 300 million visitors a year,” says National Park Service Director Charles F. “Chuck” Sams III. “And I’m just as proud to see those visitors making positive impacts of their own, by supporting local economies and jobs in every state in the country.”
Impact Caps Busiest Recent Year
Alaska is home to twenty-three national parks. “Solitude, wilderness, and deep human connection await in Alaska’s national parks, and I’m proud to see how the parks are benefitting surrounding communities,” says Sarah Creachbaum, Regional Director for Alaska parks.
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September 2024
In March, the National Park Service reported that park visits in 2023 surpassed the previous record set before COVID-19 disrupted a fairly steady growth trend. Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve and Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park both broke annual visitation records, a boost that was linked to the continued growth of cruise ship traffic to Alaska.
The National Park Service finds that visitors spent $26.4 billion in communities near national parks. Nationwide, this spending supported 415,400 jobs and provided $19.4 billion in labor income and $55.6 billion in economic output to the US economy. The lodging sector had the highest direct contributions with $9.9 billion in economic output and 89,200 jobs. Restaurants received the next greatest direct contributions with $5.2 billion in economic output and 68,600 jobs.
An interactive tool 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 nps.gov.
