New York State Parks: An Economic Engine for the State
This past Friday, Parks & Trails New York (PTNY) and partners released a new Economic Impact Report highlighting the crucial role our State Parks play in New York State's economy. Using one year of data from January 2021 to December 2021, the study finds that New York’s State Park System, due to substantial multi-year increases in visitation, is now a major anchor for the New York State economy. In terms of GDP, labor income, and overall economic importance, the state park system has a comparable impact to the agricultural sector. Most notably, visitation of the estimated 78 million visits, visitors spent an estimated $5.6 billion in total on a variety of expenses.
The newly-released Economic Impact Report also covers the additional financial contributions of our State Parks including labor income, state GDP, and various community benefits. Read the full report here.