A new study reports that Kent County parks generated $33 million in economic activity last year.
“The parks in Kent County play an important role in stimulating business and contributing to the West Michigan economy,” Christian Glupker, clinical affiliate of economics in Grand Valley State University’s Seidman College of Business and lead investigator for the study, told Michigan Live. “It is eye-opening to understand the millions of dollars in economic activity generated by visitors who come to Kent County to enjoy its parks and trails.”
According to the study, roughly 1.4 million people visited the parks and trails in 2018 with around 200,000 of those visitors being non-local.
The average visitor spent around $8.74 at a visit to the parks. The average non-local visitor spent an average of $37.69 during a visit while local visitors spent around $21.11.
The study was a collaboration between Kent County Parks and GVSU’s Seidman College of Business.
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