As the U.S. government looks for ways to avert yet another shutdown, America's national parks are preparing for another potential closure. But the impact of such a move goes well beyond just the parks themselves, extending into the communities that fall on park borders, and having a direct impact on the economies of those towns.
Once again Congress finds itself at odds as Republicans and Democrats try to find a compromise that will allow them to pass a bill that will continue to fund the U.S.
government, keeping thousands of individual agencies, departments, and entities operating. As usual, the two parties are sticking to their guns, with neither side offering much in the way of compromise. The atmosphere is reminiscent of 2013, when the government actually did shutdown for 16 days, halting many services and shuttering important offices for the duration.
The shutdown impacts Americans in many ways, but one of the hardest hit agencies is definitely the National Park Service. When a shutdown occurs, the parks are forced to close, keeping visitors out for as long as the government in not in operation. In 2013, the closures lasted for more than two weeks, which results in a lot of lost revenue not just for the parks, but the businesses that rely on travelers for their livelihoods.
It is estimated that a government shutdown will cost the U.S. travel industry around $185 million per day. That impact could extend further with a layoff – or reduction of hours – of as many as 530,000 people whose jobs are linked to the national parks, forests, monuments, and similar destinations.
The economic impact from the shutdown would then extend further into communities where those workers live, as they look to reduce their spending to compensate for lost wages.
October can be a busy month in some of the national parks. For the Great Smokey Mountains, it is the second busiest time of the year, so a potential shutdown could have a dramatic effect on business across the region.
For instance, the Great Smoky Mountain Association, an organization that runs gift shops and other business within the park, says that it lost $550,000 in revenue while it was closed in 2013. It was also forced to layoff 80 employees during that time.
The Great Smokey Mountain National Park isn't alone with this dilemma. While it receives about 35,000 visitors per day in October, the entire park system typically sees about 715,000 visitors during that time period. If they are closed, that means about $500,000 in lost revenue each and every day. Worse yet, the satellite communities that rely on the parks for business lose a collective $76 million per day. That is a substantial amount for sure.
From a purely selfish standpoint, the disappointment that travelers feel when they can't access a park they had planned to visit on their trip is tough to quantify. Most end up making plans to spend that time elsewhere, but if someone were planning on visiting Yellowstone or Yosemite for the very first time, but found they couldn't get in, it would be monumentally disappointing for sure.
Thankfully, there are some indications that a government shutdown will be averted. While both sides of the aisle are busy grandstanding, there are some elements within the two parties that are busy working on a compromise that will continue to provide the funding necessary to keep operations running. Hopefully those cooler heads will prevail, and the national parks will remain open for the fall season. Not only is good for the Park Service itself, it also benefits the communities that surround the parks as well.
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