Source: SFGate
“A report released by the National Park Service on Thursday shows that visitor spending at national parks increased by nearly 10% between 2023 and 2024, partly due to an increase in visitation that comes at an especially precarious time for the park system. Visitors at national parks spent an estimated $29 billion in local gateway regions in 2024, the report states. The highest percentage of that money – 38.29%, or $11.1 billion – was spent at hotels. Restaurants received $5.7 billion in visitor spending, and visitors spent $2.6 billion on recreation industries. The total national economic output of visitor spending at national parks was $56.3 billion, according to the report. In California, visitors spent the most money – $1.8 billion – at the Bay Area’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which saw the second-highest spending figure in the country after Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina.” (09/27/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/national-parks/article/national-park-visitor-spending-2024-21070901.php