Report: Voyageurs visitors add $24 million to local economy

A new report from the National Park Service estimates the local economic impact of visitors to Voyageurs National Park at about $24 million in 2016.

The park service says nearly 242,000 people visited Voyageurs last year, spending nearly $20 million in communities near the park. That spending supported 310 jobs and had a cumulative economic benefit of about $24.6 million in the area as a whole.

The report says visitors spent the most on lodging at 31 percent of spending. Next was food and beverages at about 27 percent. The rest of visitors' spending was on gas, admissions and fees, camping fees, souvenirs and other expenses.

Voyageurs Superintendent Bob DeGross says the park welcomes visitors from across the country and around the world.