Travel community praises passage of National Parks Bill

June 23, 2020
|In The NEXT Network, News, Insights
|By AAA Travel

U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement on Senate passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, a bill that establishes the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund to support deferred maintenance projects on federal lands.

“Our national parks are more critical centers of travel and tourism than ever, and the Senate has done a very wise thing to prioritize this legislation to support their upkeep. In addition to the great positive impact on the infrastructure and maintenance needs at national parks, and this bill will also help protect the use of public lands for the travel- and tourism-dependent recreation industry.” Dow commented.

The timing is important, as American’s are shifting their travel focuses to domestic destinations.

“Data is showing conclusively that Americans are much more comfortable traveling by car and recreating outdoors as we continue to cope with the pandemic, which will make national parks very important leisure travel destinations for the foreseeable future.” Dow continued with, “Given their vital role as drivers for the regional economies around them, national parks are cornerstones not only of America’s cultural and geographical heritage but also of American prosperity. In 2019 alone, national parks welcomed 327 million visitors who contributed $41.7 billion to the economy and supported 340,500 jobs.”

The fund must be used for priority deferred maintenance projects in specified systems that are administered by:

  • the National Park Service,
  • the Forest Service,
  • the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
  • the Bureau of Land Management, and
  • the Bureau of Indian Education.

“We thank Sen. Gardner, Sen. Daines and Sen. Manchin for their leadership on this bill, and we look forward to continuing to work with Congress on measures to secure the future of our national parks for all Americans.”

AAA Travel has gathered several vacation options focused on Rediscovering America. As parks, roads and states open their gates, we invite you to find your NEXT great vacation. View our hand-selected packages and road trips at aaa.com/roadtrip.