Despite less visitors to Philadelphia's historic parks in 2013, spending increased to $196 million in communities near the parks — the result of more than 3.5 million visitors.
The National Park Service study shows that spending supported 2,730 jobs in the city.
Philadelphia’s best-known national park is Independence National Historical Park, which is also responsible for management of the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site and Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial. Some of the featured attractions are class-trip favorites like Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center.
Visitors likely declined due to the 16-day government shutdown in October 2013.
According to the National Park Service, $14.6 billion of direct spending by 273.6 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported more than 237,000 jobs nationally, with more than 197,000 jobs found in these gateway communities, and had a cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy of $26.5 billion.
