VNMP visitors decline in 2017

Published 7:14 pm Saturday, May 5, 2018

More than 400,000 visitors made their way to Vicksburg in 2017 to explore the Vicksburg National Military Park and learn about the siege that took place there.

An annual study performed by the U.S. National Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey shows that 475,075 visitors came to VNMP in 2017, continuing a multi year decline in visitors dating back to 2011.

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In 2016, the study found that 508,915 people visited the park and in 2015 there were 532,444. The recent high point was in 2011 when 796,035 people visited the park.

“Our visitation was a little bit down as you can see in the numbers, but I will say the visitation is up so far this year,” VNMP superintendent Bill Justice said. “Generally, it was a fairly busy year, but the visitation was down somewhat. We haven’t made any changes in the counting or anything like that.”

Even with the decline in visitation, the park is still making a sizeable impact on the Vicksburg community. According to the NPS, the park helped created 444 tourism related jobs in town and the park’s visitors spent more than $27 million locally in 2017. The total benefit to the economy is reported to have been $36 million.

“The Vicksburg National Military Park is the prime driver of the region’s tourism economy,” Vicksburg Convention and Visitor’s Bureau executive director Bill Serrat said. “People from throughout the world are intrigued by the importance of the battlefields in American history and all are inspired by its natural beauty. The Vicksburg Convention and Visitor’s Bureau greatly appreciates the dedication of the staff of the park. They do an incredible job.”

The NPS service manages 417 parks throughout the country. The study found that the more than 330 million visitors to the parks in 2017 spent $18.2 billion in the communities surrounding the parks and supported more than 300,000 jobs.

The study found that in Vicksburg, park visitors spent $6.3 million in restaurants and $8.5 million at hotels. Both totals will have a sizeable impact on the future of the town as the new 2 percent tax on food, drink and lodging went into effect Oct. 1 and will fund the construction of the new sports complex.

“The national parks return $10 for every dollar that is invested in them,” Justice said. “What is even more rewarding is to see how the community embraces the park. To see people out there in the evenings, the parking lot full and people out there walking when the park is closed and getting physically out there as part of their lives, that is the most rewarding part.”