National park tourism brings over $2.5B to Utah

Utah – According to a new report released by the National Park Service, it is found that 14,796,739 visitors to the national parks in Utah spent $1,607,900,000 in the state in 2021.

Ranking third after North Carolina and California, Utah brought in a whopping $2.5 billion to its state economy in 2021.

Utah also ranked third for labor income bringing in $822 million, followed by North Carolina and California again. The spending resulted in 22,901 jobs.

The national parks in Utah are:

• Arches National Park
• Bryce Canyon National Park
• California National Historic Trail
• Canyonlands National Park
• Capitol Reef National Park
• Cedar Breaks National Monument
• Dinosaur National Monument
• Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
• Golden Spike National Historical Park
• Hovenweep National Monument
• Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
• Natural Bridges National Monument
• Old Spanish National Historic Trail
• Pony Express National Historic Trail
• Rainbow Bridge National Monument
• Timpanogos Cave National Monument
• Zion National Park

297 million park visitors spent an estimated $20.5 billion in local gateway regions while visiting National Park Service lands across the country in 2021.

Lodging contributed to most of that spending, having the most direct effects, with $7 billion in economic output nationally. The restaurant sector had the second greatest effect, with $4.2 billion in economic output nationally.

The total economic output that contributed to the national economy in 2021 was $42.5 billion.