Visitors to two national parks in Louisiana's Mississippi River Delta region added more than $17 million to local communities last year, the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) reported last month.
The New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park and the six sites within the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve brought in 273,499 visitors in 2021, according to the NPS report released June 24. These visitors pumped $17.8 million into local, or "gateway" communities near the parks, according to the report.
"That spending supported 248 jobs in the local area," the NPS states in the report, "and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $24.5 million."
Acting Park Superintendent Tracy Stakely said the New Orleans Jazz and Jean Lafitte NHPs "share the nature, history and diverse cultural traditions of Louisiana's Mississippi River Delta," with tourists.
The park the celebrates the birthplace of jazz is, of course, in New Orleans. The six sites in the Jean Lafitte system - Barataria Preserve, the French Quarter Visitor Center, Chalmette Battlefield and Cemetery, Prairie Acadian Cultural Center, Acadian Cultural Center and the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center - are located throughout southern Louisiana.
“We are honored to be a part of a tourism industry that supports local economies," Stakely said in the report, "while introducing visitors from across the country and around the world to this unique environment and all that it offers.”
Economists with the NPS and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted the spending analysis of the nation's parks, according to the report. The analysis found 297 million people visited national parks in 2021 and pumped $20.5 billion of direct spending into communities within 60 miles of national parks.
Nationally, this spending supported 322,600 jobs, with 269,900 of those in gateway communities, according to the NPS. Overall, the U.S. economy benefited by $42.5 billion, the NPS reports. Hotels and lodging contributed $7 billion; restaurants added $4.2 billion, according to the report.
“National parks are a vital part of our nation’s economy, especially for park gateway communities," Stakely said in the report. "Each year millions of park visitors make use of local services that help drive a vibrant tourism and outdoor recreation industry.”
