MAINE, USA — Editor's note: The video above aired on June 23, 2023.
A new report from the National Park Service has estimated that tourism from Acadia National Park brought nearly $480 million to the local Maine economy in 2022.
The park saw 3.97 million visits in 2022, which provided $479 million in visitor spending, according to the report.
That spending supported around 6,700 jobs in the area and had a cumulative benefit of $691 million.
“Since 1916, the National Park Service has been entrusted with the care of our national parks. With the help of volunteers and partners, we safeguard these special places and share their stories with more than 300 million visitors every year. The impact of tourism to national parks is undeniable: bringing jobs and revenue to communities in every state in the country and making national parks an essential driver to the national economy,” National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said in a news release from the NPS.
Superintendent Kevin Schneider added, "People come to Acadia National Park to enjoy and learn about the park’s incredible landscape and history dating back to [the] ancestral home of the Wabanaki people. We recognize that tourism to Acadia is a critical driver to the local economy, bringing nearly 6,700 jobs and $479 million in revenue to communities within 60 miles of the park.”
The peer-reviewed analysis of visitor spending was completed by National Park Service economists.
"The report shows $23.9 billion of direct spending by nearly 312 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 378,400 jobs nationally; 314,600 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $50.3 billion," the report stated.
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