Yellowstone National Park tourists boost local economy

Wyoming: A federal report shows visitors to Yellowstone National Park spent nearly $513 million in neighbouring communities last year.

The report last week from the National Park Service indicates the spending by the park’s 4.1 million visitors supported nearly 7,100 jobs in the area in 2018.

According to the report, the more than 468,000 visitors to Devils Tower National Monument in northeast Wyoming spent $30 million last year, supporting more than 400 jobs.

The park service recorded more than 318 million visitors nationwide. The report shows they spent more than $20 billion in communities within 60 miles (96.5 kilometers) of parks to support 329,000 jobs.

Of the nationwide visitor spending, nearly $7 billion was on lodging expenses and $4 billion was on restaurants and bars.