Numbers back up positive park impact, leaders say

More than a year after a new national park designation, tourism industry leaders, legislators and others continue to assess the impact of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

While not having exact numbers at his disposal at the time of a call with a reporter on a recent day, Roger Wilson, CEO of Lansing-based outfitter Adventures on the Gorge, said, "The national park (designation) has definitely helped us as far as visitors. Once the designation happened, I would say four out of 10 phone calls mentioned the national park."

The year 2021 "was a great year" for the resort, Wilson said. He said that, while the upswing in business was obviously fueled in part by the change in park designation, people wanting to eliminate Covid-19 fatigue by venturing out — no matter where they went — was also part of the reason for better numbers locally and elsewhere.

While pleased that the park designation occurred in 2020 and made for a rosier outlook in the 2021 calendar year, Wilson said recently that being in the thick of things in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve has been more critical for AOTG so far in 2022. "With gas prices and uncertainties with the stock market and the (overall) economy and other fears, I think the national park designation has kept people coming (in 2022)," he said.

In a general employment scenario, AOTG eventually builds up to around 500 employees at some point in the April to early October window annually. "We're a seasonal business, so we ramp up in the summer and cut back for winter," Wilson said, "That's the nature of the business."

However, he said increased business of late has allowed the resort to keep more employees on staff in the off-months. "In years past, I kept 40 year-round," he said. "In 2021, I kept 57 or 58."

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said in a recent press release she's very pleased so far in the aftermath of the NRGNPP designation. On June 23, Capito hailed the economic impact which has resulted from the redesignation of the New River Gorge National River to the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. According to Capito, the U.S. National Park Service’s (NPS) 2021 National Park Visitor Spending Effects report found that, since the redesignation, visitor spending in communities near the NRGNPP resulted in a $35.2 million benefit to the state’s economy and supported 1,090 jobs in those gateway communities. In 2021, nearly 1.7 million park visitors spent an estimated $82.6 million in local gateway regions while visiting the park, with 88.1 percent of those visitors from outside the state's borders.

"This report shows what we knew from the beginning: Redesignating the New River Gorge would be a game changer," Capito said in the release. "This is exactly the type of impact I knew we could create when I began the redesignation process, and I couldn't be more thrilled to see the results. West Virginia is truly a hidden gem, offering world-class recreational opportunities, breathtaking views and kind people, and I’m so proud that we can share this with the world."

"The growth of West Virginia's tourism industry is absolutely incredible," Gov. Jim Justice said via the same release. "These new numbers further prove what I've been saying for years — tourism promotion works. The park designation has not only increased traveler spending but also elevated West Virginia's status as a national and international destination. It's been amazing to watch as the entire world has learned what we have all known for years: West Virginia is truly Almost Heaven.

"Our deepest thanks for our Congressional delegation who gave us the honor of being known as home to the nation's newest national park."

The report reflected visitor spending that helped provide $32.3 million in labor income, $53.9 million in value added, and $100 million in economic output in local gateway economies surrounding the NRGNPP.

"We don't collect these numbers (locally) but it corresponds with what our visitation increase is showing, although higher," said Eve West, chief of interpretation, visitor services and cultural resources for the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, Bluestone National Scenic River and Gauley River National Recreation Area. "We've been comparing numbers to our last pre-Covid year, which was 2019, and 2021 reflected a 30 percent increase in visitation.

"Likewise, the estimated spending went from $53.4 million to $82.6 million in 2021, an increase of 54 percent in spending in local gateway communities."

To help greet and accommodate visitors who come to the area, future park plans locally call for, among other projects, extensive work on the visitor center at Canyon Rim. "Right now there is proposed funding for (demolishing) dilapidated and unused structures in the park," West said. "We're also receiving funding from the bipartisan infrastructure bill to address legacy pollution in national park sites, and ours will go toward capping an orphaned gas well and site reclamation in the Gauley River National Recreation Area."

West said some other improvement projects are tentative until funding is in place. "It is still too early to provide specifics on additional projects until we know things are funded for sure."

Although the NRGNPP hasn't been able to add any extra personnel to date, West said park officials have "been busy filling positions that have been vacant." She says it's still a wait-and-see approach in some infrastructure project areas as another summer tourism season heats up. "?It's difficult to forecast what will happen with local spending, but it seems reasonable that with increased visitation there will be increased spending," she said. "We anticipate we will be getting additional visitation from countries outside the U.S. as traditionally foreign visitors travel to national park sites.

"We work closely with the staff at WV Tourism both regionally and on a state level and have been told by them that there has been an increase in inquiries from outside countries. New River Gorge National Park and Preserve and West Virginia in general seems to still be appearing on many 'top ten' lists of places to visit."

AOTG, which shares a boundary with the NRGNPP, has continued to upgrade its campus, including the continuation of glamping tents in its Chestnut Ridge campground that opened last summer. The glamping tents measure 16x20 feet and are placed on a concrete pad. They each have amenities including two queen beds, bedside tables, dresser, dining table, etc. The new campground also features group and single-tent sites, camping and a new bathhouse.

Through the years, the resort has expanded its guest amenities as the traveling public continues to discover or return to West Virginia. Several of the cabins have full kitchens and multiple bedrooms as well as campfire rings and picnic tables. Tent sites in a range of sizes are spread out in a wooded area. There is also a new centrally located bathhouse.

Wilson said that much of the resort's existing Mill Creek campground has been converted in recent months to 11 pull-through RV sites with electrical hookups. Water is available for RVs to fill up their tanks, and the resort can direct RV owners to free dump stations along area highways.

AOTG has also bought some houses off-property to convert to rentals.

Fayetteville Mayor Sharon Cruikshank says traffic has obviously increased in the county seat town in the shadow of the New River Gorge Bridge since the park redesignation. "We definitely are seeing an influx of additional people inside the Town of Fayetteville," she said. While most weekends have normally been quite busy, weekday traffic has risen in recent months. "Now we're having increased foot traffic seven days a week."

The transition to national park status and the noticeable surge in visitors in 2021 caught some by surprise, Cruikshank admitted. "We didn't realize we weren't ready for it (a spike in visitation)," she said. "We didn't know the numbers were going to jump so quickly."

One area in which the town has made some moves is in available parking, the mayor said. In recent months, town officials have graveled part of the former Fayetteville Grade School parking lot to accommodate extra vehicular traffic, and town officials are working with the NPS to possibly increase parking spots in Fayetteville Town Park, which offers one of the trailheads for park trails.

Parking is an issue on weekdays, she admits, given a flow of employees and visitors to the Fayette County Courthouse as well as activity at the Fayette County Board of Education, in addition to downtown restaurants, outdoor recreation-related shops and other businesses. The situation loosens up once people who work in town undertake the commute home.

As 2022 marches on, Cruikshank says Fayetteville and the surrounding area continue to throw open their arms to visitors and locals alike, as they offer a variety of avenues to explore locally and throughout southern West Virginia. "Discover the whole area," she said. "We have so much to offer."

The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve was established through the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve Designation Act, legislation authored by Capito and co-sponsored by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., while Congresswoman Carol Miller,R-W.Va. Third District, introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives. The legislation was signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020.

According to the NPS report, since the redesignation, visitor spending in the local park's gateway communities increased from $47.4 million to $82.6 million, a 74 percent increase, jobs increased from 665 to 1,090, a 64 percent increase, and labor income increased from $18.4 million to $32.3 million, a 75 percent increase.

Visitor spending in the NRGNPP was led by lodging ($22.3 million, or 27.03 percent) and restaurants ($18.4 million, or 22.22 percent). Restaurants supplied 25 percent (274) of the total labor force to lead that segment.

In regard to the overall National Park Service's impact on the West Virginia economy, 2.2 million park visitors spent an estimated $109 million in local gateway regions while visiting NPS lands in West Virginia in 2021. These expenditures supported a total of 1,450 jobs, $42.9 million in labor income, $71.2 million in value added, and $131 million in economic output in the state's economy.

West Virginia and the NRGNPP have been nationally recognized as a top-tier tourism destination in 2022 by major travel publications such as Lonely Planet, TIME, Frommers, USA Today, and Condé Nast. West Virginia was the only destination in the world to receive these accolades from all five publications, according to Capito's office.