A new National Park Service report shows that the 1,433,593 visitors to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park in 2024 spent $445 million in communities near the park. That spending had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $571 million.
The 2024 Visitor Spending Effects analysis incorporates newly available survey data for Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park that was collected as part of NPS socioeconomic monitoring. Previous spending estimates for Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park were calculated using generalized trip and spending data from other parks in the National Park System.
In 2024, 1.4 million visitors spent $445 million near the park, which supported a total of 3,605 jobs and $571 million in economic output in local gateway economies.
- About 80% of visitors stayed overnight in local area lodging and spent an average of $763 per group per night.
- On average, visitors who stayed in local area accommodations (lodging, camping, or staying in unpaid lodging with family/friends) spent 6.4 nights on the Island of Hawai’i.
- Approximately 24% of all overnight visitors indicated Hawai’i Volcanoes NP was the primary reason for their trip to the Island of Hawai’i.
The National Park Service report, 2024 National Park Visitor Spending Effects, finds that visitors spent $29 billion in communities near national parks. This spending provided $18.8 billion in labor income and $56.3 in economic output to the U.S. economy. The lodging sector had the highest direct contributions with $11.1 billion in economic output. Restaurants received the next greatest direct contributions with $5.7 billion in economic output.
Photo credit: Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
