(SitNews) Anchorage, Alaska - A new National Park Service report shows that 2.41 million visitors to national parks in Alaska spent $1.06 billion and supported 16,181 jobs in the state in 2012.

Alaska, with 23 units of the 401-unit National Park System, ranks third (behind California and North Carolina) among the states, territories and the District of Columbia in national park visitor spending and job support.

"Alaska's parks attract local users and visitors from across the country and around the world," said Joel Hard, acting regional director. "Whether they are out for an afternoon, a school field trip, or a long family vacation, people come to have a great experience, and end up spending a little money along the way. This new report shows that national park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy - returning $10 for every $1 invested in the National Park Service - and a big factor in our state's economy as well, a result we can all support."

The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by U.S. Geological Survey economists Catherine Cullinane Thomas and Christopher Huber and Lynne Koontz for the National Park Service. The report shows $14.7 billion of direct spending by 283 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 243,000 jobs nationally, with 201,000 jobs found in these gateway communities, and had a cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy of $26.75 billion.

In Alaska, the three most-visited parks in 2012 were Denali (388,433 visits); Glacier Bay (454,337) and Klondike Gold rush (854,250). About 400 private businesses provide commercial visitor services in Alaska's parks.

According to the report's national data, most visitor spending supports jobs in restaurants, grocery and convenience stores (39 percent), hotels, motels and B&Bs (27 percent), and other amusement and recreation (20 percent).

The 23 national park areas in Alaska are: Sitka National Historical Park, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Klondike Gold Rush National Park and Preserve, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, Katmai National Park and Preserve, the Alagnak Wild River, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Denali National Park and Preserve, Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Noatak National Preserve, Kobuk Valley National Park, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, and Noatak National Preserve.

On the Web:

2012 National Park Visitor Spending Effects Report
http://www.nature.nps.gov/socialscience/docs/NPSVSE2012_final_nrss.pdf

To learn more about national parks in Alaska and how the National Park Service works with communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, go to www.nps.gov/ALASKA

Source of News: 

National Park Service
www.nps.gov

SitNews ©2014
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska

Articles & photographs that appear in SitNews may be protected by copyright and may not be reprinted without written permission from and payment of any required fees to the proper sources.