BRECKSVILLE, Ohio - A new National Park Service (NPS) report estimates that in 2022, 2.9 million visits to Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) brought $56 million of spending in communities in and near the park. That spending supported 778 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $86 million.
“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. 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," said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams.
“We welcome people from around the world and around the corner who come to Cuyahoga Valley National Park for recreation, renewal, or to learn something new." said Lisa Petit, CVNP Superintendent. “We recognize that tourism is a critical driver to the local economy, bringing jobs and revenue to local communities. Every dollar that Congress invests in national parks returns more than ten dollars to the economy."
The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists at the NPS. 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.
Report authors also produce 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 webpage
To learn more about national park sites in Ohio and how the NPS works with Ohio communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, visit www.nps.gov/ohio.
CVNP encompasses over 33,000 acres along the Cuyahoga River between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. Managed by the National Park Service, CVNP combines cultural, historical, recreational, and natural resources in one setting. For more information, visit us at www.nps.gov /cuva on Facebook ,Twitter or Instagram, or call 440-717-3890.
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Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service