By JOHN BURNETT Tribune-Herald staff writer ADVERTISING A newly released study commissioned by the National Park Service shows that visitors to the four national parks and historical sites on the Big Island spent an estimated $122 million in the parks
By JOHN BURNETT
Tribune-Herald staff writer
A newly released study commissioned by the National Park Service shows that visitors to the four national parks and historical sites on the Big Island spent an estimated $122 million in the parks and surrounding local communities in 2010.
The annual visitor spending analysis conducted by Michigan State University social scientist Daniel Stynes also found that spending by national park visitors supported almost 1,600 jobs on the Big Island.
Those figures are part of a larger national study based on $12 billion of direct spending by 281 million visitors in 394 national parks and nearby communities.
The lion’s share of NPS visitor spending on the Big Island, $88.26 million, was generated by Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the only national park in East Hawaii, which also supported 1,162 jobs in the local economy.
Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park was the second-largest economic generator, at $20.87 million. Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park and Puukohola Heiau National Historical Site generated $6.6 million and $6.46 million, respectively, for the parks and the surrounding communities. The study did not count park admission fees. Park payrolls were tallied separately.
“The people and the business owners in communities near national parks have always known their economic value,” NPS Pacific West Regional Director Chris Lehnertz said in a written statement.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando added that the Volcano park is “the most popular destination on the island of Hawaii and one of the most visited attractions statewide” and “vital to the economic well-being both of our island and state economies.”
Most of the spending and jobs, 52 percent, are related to lodging, food and beverage service, followed by other retail at 29 percent, entertainment and amusement at 10 percent, gas and local transportation at seven percent and groceries at 2 percent.
The vast majority of the spending was by tourists. At HVNP, $83.9 million of the spending generated was identified as “non-local” in the study.
Tourists spent $19.4 million at Puuhonua O Honaunau, $6.15 million at Kaloko-Honokohau and $6 million at Puukohola Heiau.
Orlando said she was not surprised by the disparity between visitor and local spending.
“When you look at the visitation to the park, when you look at the visitation to the island, out of 1.3 million (visitors), you have 1.28 or 1.29 million who came in by air,” she said. “… That’s been a consistent variable over the years.”
According to the park service, there were an estimated 1.35 million visitors to HVNP in 2011, a 3.6 percent increase over the previous year.
The study noted that in 2010, there were 148 National Park Service employees and 191 total employees at HVNP, receiving $7.29 million in salaries and another $1.87 million in benefits.
“Those won’t all be full-time, year-round employees,” Orlando said. “We have some people who work seasonally (and) some by appointments who might work three months or six months.” She said the Big Island NPS operation has the equivalent of 200 full-time employees.
“In the park itself, and this wasn’t counted, because they’re only looking at the park service, we have over 1,000 people working in the park,” she added. “We have all the partner employees. We have other federal agencies. We have Kilauea Military Camp. We’ll have a concession operation employees. You have the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. And then we have numerous volunteers that come in and out. None of that is payroll that is calculated in this study.”
HVNP also had 77,320 overnight stays, all campers, since the historic Volcano House hotel in the park has been shuttered since December 2009.
“We hope to have some level of service this coming summer,” Orlando said. “I’m not sure it will be lodging; I’m not sure it will be food service at this point. We’re still working through some of that. But we hope to be making an announcement here in the next month on the new operator.”
In West Hawaii, Puuhonua O Honaunau had 24 NPS employees and 31 total employees, with a payroll of just under $1.7 million and $365,000 in benefits. The totals at Kaloko-Honokohau and Puukohola Heiau were $1.1 million payroll with $336,000 benefits and $1 million with $235,000 benefits, respectively.
Orlando said another impact not taken into account in the study is park service grants to states, such as the National Historic Program, the National Landmark Program and the Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance Program, which provided funds to upgrade Waiohinu Park in Ka’u.
“The National Park Service is in our communities. It’s not just in the traditional park boundaries,” she said.
To download the report visit www.nature.nps.gov and click on Economic Benefits Report.
Email John Burnett at
jburnett@hawaiitribune-
herald.com.
