Haleakalā is “Clean Green Fuel” for Local Economy

Haleakalā National Park, file photo by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

A new report released today shows that 1,105,606 visitors in 2010 spent nearly $75 million in Haleakalā National Park and in surrounding communities.  That spending, Park officials say, supported 861 jobs in the local area.

The figures were part of a report released by the National Park Service.

“The people and the business owners in communities near national parks have always known their economic value,” said park Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum in a statement. “Haleakalā National Park is clean, green fuel for the engine that drives our local economy,” she said.

The percentage breakdown for spending and jobs in the study for Haleakalā notes that:

• 52% is related to lodging, food, and beverage service;
• 29% is related to other retail;
• 10% is related to entertainment or amusement;
• 7% is related to gas and local transportation; and
• 2% was for groceries.

According to the report, Haleakala National Park employed a total of 95 people in 2010.  The additional jobs included in the report were indicative of the amount of jobs that the park supported in the local area.

Across Hawaii, National Parks brought in a total of $252 million in visitor spending and supported 3,420 jobs.

The figures are part of a larger National Park picture that includes $12 billion in direct spending by 281 million visitors at 394 national parks and nearby communities.

The numbers are included in an annual, peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis conducted by Dr. Daniel Stynes of Michigan State University for the National Park Service.

Across the US,  the study notes, that local visitor spending added a total of $31 billion to the national economy and supported more than 258,000 jobs.  That’s an increase of $689 million and 11,500 jobs from the year before.