U.S. National Park Service Still Figuring Out the Travel Industry and Overtourism
Photo Credit: The U.S. National Park Service is trying to catch up with managing visitor growth across its system. Pictured are tourists at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Flickr / Ben Clark
Skift Take
Somewhat shockingly, the U.S. National Park Service is just now getting familiarized with the travel industry even though it oversees some of the oldest and most popular attractions in the country. More parks are beginning to work with local tourism officials, and their budding symbiotic relationships are critical to the park service's future.
The U.S. National Park Service has been welcoming tourists into its monuments, parks and sites for more than 100 years – with record visitation in many cases. But when it comes to courting the travel industry and working with travel brands to understand tourism trends and expectations, some park service officials admit this is a work in progress.
For decades, the park service wasn't working with surrounding communities and travel brands to communicate its economic impact on local populations, and the environmental impact of travelers on its properties.
That's in large part because the park service is still educating itself on what its role is in the tourism industry, said John Slaughter, acting superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virginia.
"The park service has been doing tourism through osmosis for the past 100 years," said Slaughter. "We begged people to come [for the centennial anniversary] and we made a huge effort and they came out but we had
