ECONOMIC-GROWTH AND INTERDEPENDENCE EFFECTS OF STATE-PARK VISITATION IN LOCAL AND STATE ECONOMIES

Local and statewide economic effects of resident and nonresident visits to a state park in Kansas were estimated. Economic effects were estimated by the U.S. Forest Service IMPLAN input-output model using data from the Public Area Recreation Visitors Study (PARVS). In part, this was a component of a broader national effort to evaluate the analytic compatibility of these modeling and data systems and to improve the technology for estimating recreation impacts. To a larger extent, this was an effort to expand our knowledge of the kinds and magnitudes of these economic effects. Results suggest that state park visits have considerable positive economic impacts. Parks and other recreational uses of rural land may therefore provide an additional means for stimulating economic growth and stability. More research is needed to extend techniques for estimating economic growth and interdependence effects of outdoor recreation visitation.