PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — A new report shows the National Park Service has a cumulative impact of more than $1.8 billion to Virginia’s economy.

The report from NPS says the more than 22.5 million visitors who visited Virginia’s national parks in 2022 spent more than $1.2 billion in the commonwealth and supported 17,662 jobs.

“Since 1916, the National Park Service has been entrusted with the care of our national parks. With the help of volunteers and partners, we safeguard these special places and share their stories with more than 300 million visitors every year. The impact of tourism to national parks is undeniable: bringing jobs and revenue to communities in every state in the country and making national parks an essential driver to the national economy,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams.    

At the national level, the cumulative benefit of visitor spending was $50.3 billion, the NPS says, with $9 million going to lodging.

The park sites in Virginia include:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail (various states) 
  • Appomattox Court House National Historical Park 
  • Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial 
  • Assateague Island National Seashore (MD, VA) 
  • Booker T. Washington National Monument 
  • Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail (VA, DC, DE, MD, NY, PA) 
  • Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park  
  • Chesapeake Bay Watershed (VA, DC, DE, MD, PA, WV)  
  • Colonial National Historical Park (includes Jamestown and Yorktown Battlefield)  
  • Fort Monroe National Monument 
  • Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park 
  • George Washington Memorial Parkway (DC, VA, MD) 
  • Great Falls Park 
  • Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site 
  • Manassas National Battlefield Park 
  • Petersburg National Battlefield 
  • Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail (DC, MD, PA, VA) 
  • Prince William Forest 
  • Richmond National Battlefield Park 
  • Shenandoah National Park 
  • Thomas Stone National Monument 
  • Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail (various states) 
  • Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts

You can read more about the study here.