(WFXR) – A new report from the National Parks Service (NPS) report shows that 14.1 million visitors to the Blue Ridge Parkway spent $ 1.1 billion in communities around the parkway in 2020.

The spending helped support 15,500 jobs in the area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $ 1.3 billion.

“The Blue Ridge Parkway was built in part to support the economic vitality of the region it traverses in North Carolina and Virginia. The annual visitor spend report reminds us all of the vital partnership the park has with local communities along the route to deliver high quality visitor experiences on and off the parkway. After we have just started the visitor season 2021, we expect another year with a high number of visitors. We encourage visitors to plan ahead for all that the Parkway and its neighboring communities have to offer. ”

Tracy Swartout, director of the Blue Ridge Parkway

The peer-reviewed analysis of visitor spending was conducted by economists from the NPS and the US Geological Survey.

The National Park Service urges visitors to be careful on the Blue Ridge Parkway during the 2021 season

The report shows $ 14.5 billion in direct spending by more than 237 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park.

These expenses supported 234,000 jobs across the country; 194,400 of these jobs can be found in these gateway communities.

The report indicates that the cumulative benefits to the U.S. economy were $ 28.6 billion.

At the national level, the lodging sector benefited the most, with an economic output of $ 5 billion. Next came the restaurant sector with $ 3 billion in economic output.

Visitor spending on accommodation supported more than 43,100 jobs and more than 45,900 restaurant jobs.

Visitor spending in the leisure industry supported more than 18,100 jobs and retail spending supported more than 14,300 jobs.

An interactive tool that you can find from click here. has been established to enable users to examine visitor spending, jobs, labor income, value added and production effects by sector for national, state and local economies.

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