Sac State survey finds visitors to California's state parks spend billions annually

From YubaNet.com

CA
Sac State survey finds visitors to California's state parks spend billions annually
Author: Sacramento State University
Published on Jun 10, 2009 - 7:37:52 AM

Approximately 74.9 million people visit California state parks annually.

June 9, 2009 - Preliminary findings from a recent Sacramento State survey found that visitors to California's state parks spend an average of $57.63 per visit, which translates to $4.32 billion annually in direct spending associated with state parks, based on California's Parks and Recreation attendance estimates of about 74.9 million visitors a year.

The survey, commissioned and funded by the California Parks and Recreation Department and conducted by the University's Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration, found that park visitors spend an average of $24.63 inside state parks and $33 outside.

Faculty and students from Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration surveyed 9,700 visitors at 27 state parks representing the diversity of the parks system's 280 parks. The survey was taken from fall 2007 to February 2009.

Of the visitors surveyed, 11.95 percent were non-residents of California, and their average spending per person was $184.91. Based on the calculated $4.32 billion in park-related visitor expenditures per year, $1.66 billion is generated by non-residents of California.

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