Visitors in 2021 spent more than $246-million last year coming to the parks.
Washington DC. (KM) – A study has found that national parks in the region benefit the state’s economy. The National Park Service says the 6.6-million visitors to national parks in Maryland spent $26.6-million dollars last year. Chelsea Sullivan, Public Affairs Specialist for the Park Service, says that provided a $344.3-million boost to Maryland’s economy, and created 2,940 jobs.
She says visitors spend their money on “camping, gas, hotels, groceries, retail, transportation, things like are involved in the communities around the park”
“The National Park Service worked with the US Geological Survey for the report,” Sullivan continues.. “They do studies on local communities, counties and states, and they work with visitor spending reports and expand them to larger radiuses around the park. A community around the park is considered something within 60-mies of a park.”
There are a number national parks that help Americans understand their history such as Monocacy National Battlefield, Antietam National Battlefield, Fort Washington Park, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and the C & O Canal National Historical Park. But Sullivan says other parks can teach visitors about nature and allow people to get some exercise such as “hiking; some parks in the area have climbing. There’s learning resources; ranger led tours; some of our parks even have living history demonstrations. So there’s a little bit for everybody in all of our parks especially in Maryland,:” she says.
To learn more about parks in Maryland, you can go on line to www.nps.gov/maryland.
By Kevin McManus
