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White House blogs benefits of tourism on public lands

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White House blogs benefits of tourism on public lands

Last week, the White House blog highlighted the benefits of tourism on public lands. The blog cited the annual visitor survey of the US Department of Agriculture which showed that

“Forest Service lands attracted 166 million visitors in 2011, and, as a result, visitor spending in nearby communities sustained more than 200,000 full- and part-time jobs. The survey also reveals that these jobs produced labor income of more than $7.6 billion, while forest and grassland visitor spending contributed more than $13 billion to the gross domestic product.’

Other highlights:

*Recent Department of Interior study showed that recreation in national parks, refuges, and other public lands alone led to nearly $47 billion in economic contribution and 388,000 jobs in 2010.”

*An Outdoor Industry Association report showed that 140 mn Americans spent a combined US$646 bn on on hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, and other outdoor recreation on public and private lands supporting more than 6 million American jobs.

Impressive numbers.

Links

The USDA report summary

For the DOI study

 For the Outdoor Recreation Economy study