Patchogue, NY - A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 393,749 visitors to Fire Island National Seashore federal tracts and close to 2.5 million within in the park boundaries in 2022 spent $19.6 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 193 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $26.3 million.
“People visit Fire Island National Seashore to camp, enjoy the beach and bay, and create lasting memories. We recognize that this tourism is a critical driver to the local economy," says Scott McCormick, Acting Superintendent of Fire Island National Seashore.
According to the 2022 report, most park visitor spending was for lodging (26.86 percent) followed by food and beverages (22.33 percent), gas and oil (17.71 percent), retail (7.20 percent), recreation industries (6.57 percent), camping fees (3.53 percent), and local transportation (1.53 percent).
Annual appropriations for the NPS totaled $3.3 billion in fiscal year 2022, effectively turning a $1 investment in national parks into a more than $10 boost to the nation’s economy.
The latest report is informed by new socioeconomic monitoring survey data, which greatly increases the accuracy of spending estimates for each park and helps the National Park Service learn more about park visitors. This advanced monitoring also delivers a more accurate estimate of the economic contributions of parks to communities.
Results from the Visitor Spending Effects report series are available online via an interactive tool. Users can view year-by-year trend data and explore current year visitor spending, jobs, labor income, value-added, and economic output effects by sector for national, state and local economies. The interactive tool is available on the Visitor Spending Effects - Economic Contributions of National Park Visitor Spending - Social Science (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).
The annual peer-reviewed economics report was prepared by economists from the National Park Service. Learn more about how NPS-managed lands and programs provide economic benefits on the NPS economics webpage. Economics - Social Science (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service