YANKTON, S.D. (KCAU) — A report from the National Park Service shows tourism at the Missouri National Recreational River contributed a cumulative $8.1 million to the area economy.

About 133,000 spent $6.6 million in communities near the Missouri National Recreational River in 2022, which the National Park Service says supported 86 jobs and benefitted the local economy with a cumulative $8.1 million.

The National Park Service’s director Chuck Sams said that the impact that national park tourism has is undeniable.

“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 Sams.

The Missouri National Recreational River said that they are proud to be able to contribute to the local economy.

“We recognize that tourism is a critical driver to the economy of southeast South Dakota which is quickly becoming one of the largest tourism areas in the state,” said Superintendent Curt Dimmick. “At the Missouri National Recreational River, we are proud to be able to support the local economy by working to ensure that visitors can enjoy a wide variety of recreational activities on the river as well as the area’s outstanding scenic, wildlife, and historic values.”

The report from the National Park Service was a peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis that was conducted by their economists.

According to their report, $23.9 billion was spent directly by an estimated 312 million people visiting communities with 60 miles of a national park.

The National Park Service said that this spending helped support 378,400 jobs within the nation and contributed a cumulative $50.3 billion to the U.S. economy.