News Release
The federal government allocates over $100 million to Utah’s national park areas and airports annually, supporting over 1,200 jobs
March 25, 2025 (Salt Lake City) – States and the federal government share a vital economic relationship. This data summary, the sixth in a series on state and federal economic linkages from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, presents the Utah-federal government nexus for Utah’s travel and tourism industry.
“President Theodore Roosevelt established Utah’s first national monument, Natural Bridges, in 1908,” said Jennifer Leaver, senior tourism analyst at the Gardner Institute. “Since then, the state’s travel and tourism industry has boomed, with its 18 national parks and places receiving upwards of 16 million combined visitors annually.”
Key findings from the summary include the following:
Size and Composition – In FY2024, over 1,200 federal employees worked in tourism-related jobs in Utah, including 658 in leisure and hospitality (including national parks and recreation jobs) and 605 at the Federal Aviation Association (FAA). Utah National Park Service jobs grew 8% from 2005 to 2024, while national park visitation increased 100% during the same period.
Federal Funding – National Parks & Recreation – The federal government allocated close to $49 million in ongoing funds to Utah’s federal parks in FY2023 and over $143 million in one-time Legacy Restoration Funds (LRF) since FY2021. Utah’s federal parks receive a combination of U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) ongoing and one-time funds annually.
Federal Funding – Air Travel & Public Transportation – The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) allocated $50.5 million in its Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant funds to Utah’s international airport and six regional and 11 municipal airports in FY2024. Utah’s public transportation systems, including its airports, roads, bridges, mass transit, and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, have received hundreds of millions of additional federal grant dollars in recent years.
Location – Utah’s federally funded national parks and places comprise 5.6 million acres of Utah land. The NPS manages all of Utah’s national parks and places except for Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Jurassic National Monuments, and Ashley Karst and Flaming Gorge National Recreation Areas. Garfield, Wayne, and Grand counties had the most significant federal leisure and hospitality job shares in FY2024.