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Park Service urged to approve new national park tourism plan

Also see: National Park visitation continues downward trend

From American Recreation Coalition

Top national tourism leaders have urged National Park Service Director Mary Bomar to approve promptly a new national park tourism plan entitled "Developing Relevance and Connections Through Tourism" and to convene a session to speed implementation of the plan.

According to the Chairman of the National Park Hospitality Association, "The proposed National Tourism Strategic Plan will allow the National Park Service (NPS) to connect more Americans to their parks and reverse a two decade pattern of stagnation and decline in visitation. The plan outlines strategies and actions which have great potential to strengthen cooperative relations between the NPS and its tourism partners, raise park staff understanding of the needs and expectations of actual and potential visitors, enhance the visitor experience in the national parks, introduce a more diverse population to the parks and promote more responsible visitor use."

The NPS has a tourism office and a Director of Tourism, but the national leaders contend that real progress awaits a formal embrace of the plan by agency leadership. Unfortunately, other pressing issues have dominated meetings of the agency's leadership team for several months.

The letter states:

"America's national park system is a great legacy and a wonderfully positive force in the lives of those who visit and derive mental and physical benefits, learning and more. Yet there is a challenge facing us &endash; to make these benefits widespread among the public. You and others have expressed interest in recent months with efforts to connect Americans to their parks &endash; and we fully support this vision. One of the most vital elements in connecting the American people to their parks is creating awareness. Today's Americans have more leisure time choices than any previous generation. Any many of those choices are promoted with advertising and other messaging that renders simple activities like taking a hike, going on a picnic, camping or going fishing nearly forgotten.

It is in the best interests of the National Park Service, this letter's signers and the public to help make opportunities for healthy outdoor fun, nearby and distant alike, readily apparent. Current efforts to do so lack resources and direction, and we urge you to take action immediately to help achieve shared goals including increased awareness and use of lesser-know park units, increased use of well-know national park system units during non-peak periods and increased awareness and use of the entire national park system by America's youth, especially urban and minority youth.

We have reviewed the proposed NPS National Tourism Strategic Plan entitled "Developing Relevance and Connections Through Tourism." We believe the strategies and actions it outlines have great potential to strengthen cooperative relations between the NPS and its tourism partners, raise park staff understanding of the needs and expectations of actual and potential visitors, enhance the visitor experience in the national parks, introduce a more diverse population to the parks and promote more responsible visitor use. We urge you to adopt the plan promptly. We pledge our cooperation in implementing this plan and further ask that you convene a session to commence implementation of that plan, through a broad and committed partnership involving us and others."

Signers of the letter include:

Joe Fassler, President, National Park Hospitality Association
Dennis Szefel, President, Hospitality Group, Delaware North Companies
Bruce Fears, President, ARAMARK Harrison Lodging
Rex Maughan, Chairman, Forever Resorts
Bob Warren, Chairman, National Alliance of Gateway Communities
Randy Julian, Chair, National Tour Association
Caroline Beteta, Chair, Western States Tourism Policy Council
Linda Profaizer, President, National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds
Peter Pantuso, President, American Bus Association
William Hardman, President, Southeast Tourism Society
Andrew Todd, President, Xanterra Parks and Resort
Derrick Crandall, President, American Recreation Coalition

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