2 million visited Cuyahoga Valley National Park in 2011, spent $51,473,000 in area

BRECKSVILLE, Ohio - A new National Park Service report for 2011 shows that the 2,161,185 visitors to Cuyahoga Valley National Park spent $51,473,000 in communities surrounding the park. This spending supported 728 jobs in the local area.

“Besides being a national park that people of Northeast Ohio incorporate into their everyday life, Cuyahoga Valley National Park attracts visitors from across the U.S. and the world,” said superintendent Stan Austin. “One of the key elements national parks offer are gateway communities that serve as starting points for visits.  Parks can be true economic drivers to the local, state, and national economy. ”

The information on Cuyahoga Valley National Park is part of a peer-reviewed spending analysis of national park visitors across the country conducted by Michigan State University for the National Park Service. The report shows $13 billion of direct spending by 279 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park for 2011.  That visitor spending had a $30 billion impact on the entire U.S. economy and supported 252,000 jobs nationwide.

Most visitor spending supports jobs in lodging, food and beverage service 63 percent followed by recreation and entertainment 17 percent, other retail 11 percent, transportation and fuel 7 percent and wholesale and manufacturing 2 percent.