A new word--spendier
Rick Smith
Jackson Hole (WY) News & Guide
Wednesday, September 13, 2023
Grand Teton National Park's visitors spendier than Yellowstone's
While Grand Teton National Park sees fewer visitors than Yellowstone National Park every year, a new report from the National Park Service shows Grand Teton’s visitors are spending more than Yellowstone’s.
In 2022, Park Service researchers estimate that Grand Teton’s visitors spent about $597 million in “gateway communities,” towns that border national parks. Grand Teton’s primary gateway community is Jackson, though Wilson, Hoback, Teton Village and Kelly are all within striking distance of the Teton Range, the park and iconic peaks and lakes.
The same report showed that Yellowstone visitors spent an estimated $452 million in its gateway communities: Jackson and Cody, as well as West Yellowstone, Gardiner and Cooke City, Montana. Even during a summer of catastrophic flooding, Yellowstone counted more recreation visits than Grand Teton: 3.3 million to Grand Teton’s 2.8 million.
Put another way, Grand Teton visitors spent more than $212 per visit in gateway communities. Yellowstone visitors spent about $137 per visit.
The annual economic report does not get into specifics of how park visitors spend their money but instead focuses on high-level estimates of how each Park Service unit impacts nearby communities. It looks at how visitor spending generates jobs and labor incomes and impacts communities’ gross domestic product and economic output.
Grand Teton visitor spending supports a total of 7,610 jobs, $267 million in labor income, $438 million in value added and $757 million in economic output in gateway economies surrounding the park, according to the report. Nearly 65% of the jobs supported are in hotels and restaurants.
The report doesn’t speculate on why Grand Teton park visitors spend more than Yellowstone visitors. But hotel prices in the two parks’ gateway communities provide some indication. Jackson likely is more expensive than other gateway communities.
In Jackson the average nightly rate for a hotel room is $442, according to the booking firm Kayak.com. Other Yellowstone gateway communities’ hotels are significantly cheaper. In Cody the average nightly rate is $203. In Cooke City it’s $223. And in West Yellowstone it’s $257.
Grand Teton National Park is trying to understand better how visitors are using the park, and what their experience is like.
People can provide the park public comment directly at TinyURL.com/gtnpvisitorcomment. The park is asking visitors questions such as “What experiences in Grand Teton are most important to you?” and “What got in the way of enjoying Grand Teton?”
The park also will host an in-person town hall from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at Teton County Library to gather feedback.
Rick Smith
5264 N. Fort Yuma Trail
Tucson, AZ 85750
Email: rsmit...@comcast.net