NATIONAL PARK SERVICE VISITATION AND INTEREST: AN UPDATE THROUGH 2009

The purpose of this paper was to examine and refute suggestions in the literature that national park visitation is on the decline. Data from a large annual national syndicated secondary dataset were examined for 2000-2009. In addition, data from Google Insights ™ related to internet searches about national park vacation travel were also used as a proxy measure to determine if interest in outdoor recreation visitation to national parks had declined. While there was evidence of some decline in visitation to national parks from 2000-2009, most of the decline occurred from 2000-2004 and there was a rebound in interest from 2004 through 2009 with the exception of a dip in 2008. Data from internet search engine queries about national parks also provided insights into visitation interest. There was some decline in interest in visiting national parks for vacation travel based on search engine inquiries; however, this decline has been cyclical and is not dramatic. The purpose of this paper was to address assertions by Pergams and Zaradic (2006 and 2008) that national park visitation is on the decline. Data from a large annual, national, and syndicated secondary dataset (Mediamark’s Topline Research Reports) were examined for the period 2000 to 2009. An additional dataset, Google Insights ™ (2011), was examined to identify trends in interest in national park visitation as reflected in Google search engine queries online. These datasets provide self-reporte