Distribution of National Park Visitor Spending in 2011 (NPS report)

Media release by National Park Service

Hawaii National Park, Hawai’i – A new National Park Service (NPS) report for 2011 shows that the 1,352,123 visitors to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park spent $96,990,000 in communities surrounding the park. This spending supported 1,177 jobs in the local area.

“The data is exciting, for the park and for our island communities, which have always understood the positive fiscal impact of the national parks,” Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando said. “Our visitation numbers continue to rise at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, which is the most visited attraction on the island of Hawai’i. It’s great to share that the visitors we welcome generate significant contributions to the local, state, and national economies,” she said.

In 2012, an estimated 1,483,930 people visited Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, an increase of 9.7 percent from 2011 – which was up 3.6 percent from 2010. The increases reflect a rising trend in Hawai’i Island tourism numbers, including a 9.4 percent increase in island arrivals for December 2012 compared to December 2011, according to Hawai’i Tourism Authority reports.

The economic information on Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park is part of a peer-reviewed spending analysis of national park visitors across the country conducted by Michigan State University for the NPS. For 2011, that report shows $13 billion of direct spending by 279 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. That visitor spending had a $30 billion impact on the entire U.S. economy and supported 252,000 jobs nationwide.

Most visitor spending supports jobs in lodging, food, and beverage service (63 percent) followed by recreation and entertainment (17 percent), other retail (11 percent), transportation and fuel (7 percent) and wholesale and manufacturing (2 percent).

To download the report visit http://www.nature.nps.gov/socialscience/products.cfm#MGM and click on Economic Benefits to Local Communities from National Park Visitation, 2011.

The report includes information for visitor spending at individual parks and by state. In 2011, an estimated 4,784,285 people visited the seven national parks in Hawai’i that report visitation numbers, an increase of 6.5 percent from 2010. Their spending totaled $278,163,000, and supported 3,329 jobs statewide.

To learn more about national parks in Hawai’i and how the NPS works with communities to preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide local recreation opportunities, go to http://www.nps.gov/hawaii.