This summer the National Park Service is offering 3 free admission weekends at 147 of its 244 parks. Hoping to stimulate summer vacations and tourism to the National Park system the admission fees will be waived to the participating parks June 20-21, July 18-19 and August 15-16. Parks such as the Grand Canyon and Yosemite are among the 147 to participate in the fee waiver and look forward to the increased tourism during these three weekends. Although National Parks will lose revenue over the admission free weekends, they hope to offset the lost revenue through an increase in park tourism.
It is estimated that last year national parks hosted 275 million tourists, generating 10.6 billion dollars for local economies and providing the local areas with 213,000 jobs. Yosemite National Park estimates that they will see a ten percent increase in tourists and although the admission fee will be waived during the 3 weekends the possibility of more money spent on hotels, tours and other vacation accommodations is looking promising. Many of the local gift shops and vendors near national parks will also be offering discounts during these weekends. The summer tour season has begun and there has never been a better time to tour Yosemite or any other national park than this summer.
