Local economic impacts for the following parks were estimated for the year 2000 using the Shortform version of the MGM2 model. These estimates cover all spending by park visitors in 2000 within the local region around the park. Spending by local residents is estimated separately so it may be included or excluded as desired. Estimates do not include impacts of park operations themselves (park employees, construction, park purchases from local businesses). National Park admission and camping fees are excluded. Concession operations inside the park are treated as local businesses. In most cases park personnel provided information about local spending patterns of their park visitors and the distribution of visitors across segments. Outputs and inputs are available in html tables below. The Excel file includes the complete MGM2 shortform model with inputs for the given park. Download this file for complete documentation, a summary of the results and additional notes for individual applications. These economic impact estimates are subject to change as better input data become available.Inputs are readily adjusted on the Excel files to either update estimates or carry out sensitivity analyses. The Excel files have built-in macros to paste in MGM2 spending and multiplier defaults (when opening these files, enable macros for these to work).

The Output pages give total park visits and spending by segment (local, day trip, motel and camp) for 2000. Direct economic impacts are estimated by segment and economic sector (hotels, restaurant, retail trade, amusements etc.) in terms of sales, personal income, jobs and value added. Secondary effects are also estimated using regional multipliers for the area.

The Input pages give values of key inputs for the analysis –party size, length of stay, re-entry and spending averages by segment and area tourism spending multipliers.

The Excel file is the MGM2 Shortform Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for computing impacts with data for the given park entered. It includes a summary of the results and additional notes on the output page.

Drafts are subject to further review by individual parks and possible adjustments.

 

In some cases, park units have been combined in the regional economic impact analysis. For example, several park units in Boston and Washington D.C. are analyzed as a group, as it is impossible to separate out their individual contributions to attracting visitors to an area or generating spending and economic impacts. Similar issues are encountered for parks that are part of regional tourist destinations, containing other major tourist attractions outside the park.

 

A “pure” economic impact analysis would assess the gain/loss in spending and economic activity in the region with vs without the park. A park’s contribution and role in the local economy or regional tourism picture are best understood within a regional context. Comparisons of park visitor surveys and economic impact estimates with regional tourist visitor studies and local economic data helps to better define the park’s contribution. Local lodging data (rooms, room nights, room taxes, hotel sales) are one good source for comparisons. The MGM2 model estimates room nights and hotel sales attributed to park visitors. These may be compared with total hotel activity in an area to assess the park’s contribution, as well as to partially validate the impact estimates.

 

Updates of estimates for the parks above to 2001 are available in our 2001 summary report (PDF).

 

If you would like an economic impact analysis for your park, see instructions at main MGM2 website.