Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., is celebrating the second anniversary of the establishment of the nation’s newest national park and preserve.

Legislation that formally designated the New River Gorge National River as the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve was signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020.

“People from across the country and around the world have come and seen firsthand what West Virginia is all about, and they are realizing that it is the hidden gem we knew about all along,” said Capito in a video statement.

A federal report released in late June found that visitor spending in local gateway regions while visiting National Park Service lands in West Virginia increased more than $43 million in 2021 over the previous year.

According to the “2021 National Park Service Visitor Spending Effects Report” published by the NPS, 2.2 million national park visitors spent an estimated $109 million in West Virginia in 2021.

Those 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 West Virginia economy.

2021’s $109 million in national park visitor spending in the state is up from $65.3 million in 2020.

More than $82 million of 2021’s national park visitor spending in West Virginia was related to the nation’s newest national park, the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

In 2021, 1.7 million park visitors spent an estimated $82.6 million in local gateway regions while visiting the New River Gorge National River.

These expenditures supported a total of 1,090 jobs, $32.3 million in labor income, $53.9 million in value added and $100 million in economic output in local gateway economies surrounding New River Gorge National River.

In 2020, prior to the area’s official designation as a national park, visitors to the area spent just $47.4 million.

According to a study from the travel and tourism research firm Dean Runyan Associates released in September, total tourism spending in West Virginia grew 3.8% between 2019 and 2021.

In addition to statewide data, the report shows that each of the state’s nine travel regions saw growth in 2021.

The report also shows that visitor spending for accommodations was $723 million, an increase of 44.1%, and visitors who stayed in a short-term rental spent $176 million in 2021, an increase of 15.4%.

Projections show West Virginia was expected to surpass $5 billion in travel spending in 2022, according to information from the West Virginia Department of Tourism.