How much of an impact does Missouri’s state parks and historic sites have on the Show-Me State’s economy?
The State Parks Division has teamed up with the University of Missouri to conduct an online survey to measure how much people spend on visiting state parks and the surrounding areas. Daniel Engler is Planning Section Manager for Missouri State Parks.
“Basically what we’re trying to do is we’re trying to get in contact with Missourians,” he told Missourinet. “Anyone who’s visiting our parks and find out what are their experiences like, in terms of where you’re spending your money, how long you’re staying at these parks, how many people go with you.”
Engler said there are actually two surveys – one for the Katy Trail and the other for the rest of the state park system.
“The reason we separate those out separately is that, you know, some people will do only part of the section of the trail. They might do the west side, they might do the east side, they might do the entire trail,” he said “So, it actually has the potential of affecting multiple different sectors of Missouri’s economy.”
Part of the survey’s purpose is to get more specific information on what people like to do at a state park.
“Do you like kayaking? Do you like hiking?” Engler said. “Whatever it might be, if we can get a better idea of what people actually enjoy doing at the parks, then we can actually reflect that in our plans going forward.”
The most recent survey was issued in 2012 and reflected the prior year. An executive summary of the 2012 survey showed the following overall impacts:
- $1.02 billion in sales
- $778 million in expenditures for visits to Missouri state parks
- $307 million in income (wage and salary income, proprietor’s income, and employee benefits)
- 14,535 jobs
- $123 million in federal, state, and local taxes
Anyone wanting to take the economic survey can log on here. The deadline to complete the survey is November 30.
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