Cape Cod National Seashore Tourists Spent $548M In 2022: National Park Service

CAPE COD, MA — The Cape Cod National Seashore is a major economic engine for the local economy, according to a new report published by the National Park Service.

NPS officials found that, in 2022, 4 million visitors to the seashore spent an estimated $548 million in local gateway regions while on their trip. A gateway region is defined as a place within 60 miles of the park.

The report found that this revenue supported 6,680 jobs, $276 million in labor income, $450 million in value-added and $750 million in economic output in local gateway economies surrounding Cape Cod National Seashore.

Visitor spending rose by $1 million from 2021 to 2022. Both years saw a big rise from the COVID-affected 2020, with $45 million more in visitor spending from 2020 to 2022.

More than half of the money spent by visitors — $300 million — was on lodging, the report said, with the second biggest chunk of money coming from $111 million spent at restaurants.

Groceries, retail, gas and recreation activities also saw visitors spend over $20 million, the report said.

The Cape Cod National Seashore has been consistent in how many people visit each year, with the number standing at roughly 4 million since 2018. A peak year in 1990 saw nearly 5.5 million people visit, according to NPS records.

Roughly 312 million people visited national parks across the country in 2022, spending an estimated $23.9 billion in gateway communities near those parks.

To view data from the report, click here.