National parks contributed $34.9B to economy
By Michelle Robertson, San Francisco Chronicle
More than 331 million people visited a national park in 2016, and they brought with them some serious spending power.
The National Park Service just released its 2016 visitor spending effects report, which details the massive economic contributions of the parks and their visitors.
In total, national parks generated $34.9 billion in economic output during the last fiscal year. And because visitors need lodging, food, and maybe a drink or two at the local watering hole, their dollars reverberate far outside the bounds of the parks.
