A new National Park Service report for 2011 shows that the 1,036,699 visitors to Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park spent $54,908,000 in communities surrounding the park during that year.  This spending supported 826 jobs in the local area. 

“Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park is a wonderful place to learn about America’s story,” said Park Superintendent Cathleen Cook. “We attract visitors from across the U.S. and around the world that come here to experience the park and then spend time and money enjoying the services provided by our neighboring communities and getting to know this amazing part of the country.  The National Park Service is proud to have been entrusted with the care of America’s most treasured places and delighted that the visitors we welcome generate significant contributions to the local, state, and national economy.” 

The information on Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military 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.  For 2011, that report shows $13 billion of direct spending by 279 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park.  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 (seven percent) and wholesale and manufacturing (two percent.)

To download the report visit www.nature.nps.gov/socialscience/products.cfm#MGM and click on Economic Benefits to Local Communities from National Park Visitation, 2011. The report includes information for visitor spending at individual parks and by state. 

To learn more about national parks in Georgia and Tennessee and how the National Park Service works with communities to preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide local recreation opportunities, go to www.nps.gov/georgia or www.nps.gov/tennessee. 

For more information about preservation efforts at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, please contact the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706.866-9241, the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at 821-7786, or visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/chch.