Economic Impacts of Parks, Rivers, Trails and Greenways

3.4 Travel and TourismParks, rivers and trails and greenways which attract visitors from outside the local area canstimulate the local economy. This section begins with examples stressing the importance ofnatural and cultural areas for attracting visitors, followed by examples showing how parks,rivers, trails, and greenways can contribute to the travel and tourism sectors throughspending by visitors to the communities around the park. The last subsection demonstrateshow park projects can leverage tourism appeal and increase marketing potential of a localcommunity.3.4.1 The Travel and Tourism IndustryThe travel and tourism industry is huge but not clearly delineated. Although there are manyreferences to the “travel” or “tourism” industry, neither is a clearly defined industry becausethe businesses that serve it do not provide a common product or service, nor do they use thesame technologies (Smith, 1997). Tourism is not listed as an official industry in the CensusBureau’s Standard Industrial Classification system, however, the following industrieswhich meet travelers’ needs are listed: hotel, restaurant, airline, automobile, shipping, retailand advertising industries. Thus, travel and tourism expenditures can be considered thosespent on transportation, lodging, eating establishments, retail, and service businesses. Suchspending, in turn, supports local jobs, personal income, and government tax revenues.Collectively, travel and tourism continue to grow, generating significant economic impactsand employment opportunities within regions and local communities.Travel and tourism is the first or second largest industry in many states and isexpected to soon be the leading industry worldwide. Tourism in the U.S. is a halftrilliondollars-a-year industry, employing more than 15.5 million people directlyand indirectly (NPS, 1999).The U.S. travel industry received more than $554.5 billion from domestic andinternational travelers in 2003 (including international passenger fares). These travelexpenditures generated nearly 7.2 million jobs for Americans, with nearly $158billion in payroll income for Americans, as well as $94.7 billion in tax revenue forfederal, state and local governments. Furthermore, approximately 1 out of every 18U.S. residents in the civilian labor force was employed due to direct travel spendingin the U.S. in 2002 (TIA, 2004a).Tourism receipts, particularly on a per capita basis, can indicate how dependentstates or regions are on tourism. The West is the most tourism dependent region inthe United States, with ten of the 13 western states being among the 13 most tourismdependent states in the country. Nevada and Hawaii are the most tourism-dependentstates in the U.S. The importance of tourism in the West is also evident inemployment data. Nine of the 13 western states are among the top 13 states in thenation in share of total employment generated by domestic travel (Western StatesTourism Policy Council, 2002).66