Travel News

Government Shutdown by the Numbers

Image credit: Wikimedia user z22

shutdownIt’s been almost two weeks since the government shutdown and figures are emerging about how it has impacted the U.S. economy, especially in the travel and tourism industry.

Even though the Obama administration has allowed states to shoulder the cost of re-opening national parks, it’s estimated that the U.S. tourism industry is losing more than $150 million a day. Here are just a few shocking statistics of the shutdown so far.

  • 152 million: The amount of money U.S. is losing EVERY DAY in economic output because of lost travel-related activity, according to Roger Dow, president of U.S. Travel.
  • 100 million: The estimated economic impact of the shutdown in Utah, according to Governor Gary Herbert.
  • 76 million: The amount of money lost by parks and the surrounding communities every day, according to an estimate by the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees.
  • 14 million:  The economic impact the shutdown has caused the 600 operators who are members of the National Tour Association (NTA).
  • 11.8 million: Dollars the Grand Canyon National Park has lost in spending from an estimated 120,000 potential visitors. In the fall, the park draws about 18,000 people a day, who add $1 million a day to the local economy.
  • 8 million: The amount the nation’s hotel industry is losing per day, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association. There is a 12 percent drop in business compared with the same period last year.
  • 1.67 million: The amount Utah has paid to the to the U.S. government to re-open its five national parks 10 days after the shutdown.
  • 450,000: The number of U.S. workers in the travel industry who are being affected by the shutdown, per U.S. Travel.
  • 700,000: The people who would have been visiting national parks each day.
  • 651,000: The total cost Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has spent to keep the Grand Canyon open for seven days. This is down from the $112,000 a day originally requested by the U.S. government.
  • 360,000: The total cost Colorado is paying to re-open Rocky Mountain National Park for 10 days. Opening the park will allow visitors to reach Estes Park, which needs the tourist dollars to recover from recent flooding.
  • 61,000: The amount New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is paying per day to fund Park Service personnel for the Statue of Liberty.

For more information on the shutdown, check out:

By Lily J. Kosner for PeterGreenberg.com