Slight Decrease in National Parks Revenue

A new National Park Service report shows that the nearly 2 million visitors to Michigan’s national parks in 2013 spent more than $166 million and supported more than 2,500 jobs in the state. Michigan’s national parks include Isle Royale National Park, Keweenaw National Historical Park and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. In 2012, Michigan’s national parks attracted nearly 2.2 million visitors who spent almost $182 million supporting more than 2,800 jobs in the state. The report said the 16-day government shutdown in October 2013 accounted for most of the decline in park visitation last year. The economists also cited inflation adjustments for differences between visitation and visitor spending, jobs supported and overall effect on the U.S. economy.