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Economic Impacts of Local Park Visitor Spending on Local Communities: A Case of Mississippi Parks

Received: 3 August 2021    Accepted: 17 August 2021    Published: 24 August 2021
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Abstract

Local parks serve not only as recreational venues but are often an engine of communities’ economic development. Economic impact analyses provide tangible estimates of economic interdependencies and a better understanding of who benefits from and pays for tourism. Accordingly, this study quantified the economic impacts of visitor expenditures at local parks in Mississippi operated by the Pat Harrison Waterway District (PHWD). Both intercept and online survey methods were employed to collect visitor data from eight parks, and the data were analyzed with the IMPLAN software package to determine economic impacts attributable to visitor spending. On average, per visitor spending at the PHWD parks was $126.28. Visitors’ total local purchasing in the PHWD areas was estimated to be approximately $5.1 million annually. Visitor spending in the PHWD areas was expected to generate: $4.4 million of output, representing revenue plus certain taxes; 68.48 jobs with $1.4 million of labor income; $2.9 million of value added to the gross regional product. The results indicated that visitor expenditures are a significant economic stimulus in a region. In particular, the dollars spent on recreational equipment and supplies, followed by campgrounds and groceries, provided a strong boost to the local economy. The implications of the study are also addressed on the basis of the results.

Published in International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Management (Volume 5, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijhtm.20210502.12
Page(s) 37-44
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Local Park, Visitor Expenditure, Economic Impact

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Juwon Choi, Hyeongjin Jeon. (2021). Economic Impacts of Local Park Visitor Spending on Local Communities: A Case of Mississippi Parks. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Management, 5(2), 37-44. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijhtm.20210502.12

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    ACS Style

    Juwon Choi; Hyeongjin Jeon. Economic Impacts of Local Park Visitor Spending on Local Communities: A Case of Mississippi Parks. Int. J. Hosp. Tour. Manag. 2021, 5(2), 37-44. doi: 10.11648/j.ijhtm.20210502.12

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    AMA Style

    Juwon Choi, Hyeongjin Jeon. Economic Impacts of Local Park Visitor Spending on Local Communities: A Case of Mississippi Parks. Int J Hosp Tour Manag. 2021;5(2):37-44. doi: 10.11648/j.ijhtm.20210502.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijhtm.20210502.12,
      author = {Juwon Choi and Hyeongjin Jeon},
      title = {Economic Impacts of Local Park Visitor Spending on Local Communities: A Case of Mississippi Parks},
      journal = {International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Management},
      volume = {5},
      number = {2},
      pages = {37-44},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijhtm.20210502.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijhtm.20210502.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijhtm.20210502.12},
      abstract = {Local parks serve not only as recreational venues but are often an engine of communities’ economic development. Economic impact analyses provide tangible estimates of economic interdependencies and a better understanding of who benefits from and pays for tourism. Accordingly, this study quantified the economic impacts of visitor expenditures at local parks in Mississippi operated by the Pat Harrison Waterway District (PHWD). Both intercept and online survey methods were employed to collect visitor data from eight parks, and the data were analyzed with the IMPLAN software package to determine economic impacts attributable to visitor spending. On average, per visitor spending at the PHWD parks was $126.28. Visitors’ total local purchasing in the PHWD areas was estimated to be approximately $5.1 million annually. Visitor spending in the PHWD areas was expected to generate: $4.4 million of output, representing revenue plus certain taxes; 68.48 jobs with $1.4 million of labor income; $2.9 million of value added to the gross regional product. The results indicated that visitor expenditures are a significant economic stimulus in a region. In particular, the dollars spent on recreational equipment and supplies, followed by campgrounds and groceries, provided a strong boost to the local economy. The implications of the study are also addressed on the basis of the results.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Economic Impacts of Local Park Visitor Spending on Local Communities: A Case of Mississippi Parks
    AU  - Juwon Choi
    AU  - Hyeongjin Jeon
    Y1  - 2021/08/24
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijhtm.20210502.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijhtm.20210502.12
    T2  - International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Management
    JF  - International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Management
    JO  - International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Management
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2640-1800
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijhtm.20210502.12
    AB  - Local parks serve not only as recreational venues but are often an engine of communities’ economic development. Economic impact analyses provide tangible estimates of economic interdependencies and a better understanding of who benefits from and pays for tourism. Accordingly, this study quantified the economic impacts of visitor expenditures at local parks in Mississippi operated by the Pat Harrison Waterway District (PHWD). Both intercept and online survey methods were employed to collect visitor data from eight parks, and the data were analyzed with the IMPLAN software package to determine economic impacts attributable to visitor spending. On average, per visitor spending at the PHWD parks was $126.28. Visitors’ total local purchasing in the PHWD areas was estimated to be approximately $5.1 million annually. Visitor spending in the PHWD areas was expected to generate: $4.4 million of output, representing revenue plus certain taxes; 68.48 jobs with $1.4 million of labor income; $2.9 million of value added to the gross regional product. The results indicated that visitor expenditures are a significant economic stimulus in a region. In particular, the dollars spent on recreational equipment and supplies, followed by campgrounds and groceries, provided a strong boost to the local economy. The implications of the study are also addressed on the basis of the results.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Interior Design, & Hospitality Management, North Dakota State University, Fargo, USA

  • Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Interior Design, & Hospitality Management, North Dakota State University, Fargo, USA

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