Park visitors boost economy
America’s oldest military park pumped nearly $50 million into the economy of Northwest Georgia in 2010, according to a new study conducted for the National Park Service.
The Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park attracted 991,901 visitors in 2010. Those visitors spent more than $49.3 million, 52 percent of which was related to food and lodging. Such spending supported 724 jobs.
A hundred miles to the northeast, the nation’s most visited national park generated more than 16 times more business. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park attracted nearly 9.5 million visitors in 2010. The park service study estimates those visitors spent $818.2 million during the year and helped support 11,367 jobs.
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