BAR HARBOR, MAINE – A new National Park Service (NPS) report estimates that Acadia National Park’s 3.97 million visits in 2022 provided $479 million in visitor spending to the local economy. That spending supported nearly 6,700 jobs in the local 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,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams.

“People come to Acadia National Park to enjoy and learn about the park’s incredible landscape and history dating back to ancestral home of the Wabanaki people,” said Superintendent Kevin Schneider. “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 visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists at the National Park Service. 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.

As for the economics of visitor spending, the lodging sector had the highest direct effects, with $9 billion in economic output nationally. The restaurants sector was had the second greatest effects, with $4.6 billion in economic output nationally.

Report authors also produce an interactive tool that enables users to explore visitor spending, jobs, labor income, value added, and output effects by sector for national, state and local economies. Users can also view year-by-year trend data. The interactive tool and report are available at the NPS Social Science Program webpage: Visitor Spending Effects – Economic Contributions of National Park Visitor Spending – Social Science (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

To learn more about national parks in Maine and how the National Park Service works with Maine name communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, go to www.nps.gov/maine.

Additional Coverage:

Report: Acadia National Park tourism brought $479M to local economy in 2022 – News Center Maine

Acadia National Park contributes 479 million to local economy – via Fox Bangor

Tourism to Acadia National Park contributed $479 million to local economy in 2022 – via Bar Harbor Story