RICHMOND, Va. (AP) A new report from the U.S. Department of the Interior says Virginia’s national park sites yielded nearly $1 billion in economic benefits with more than 23 million visits in 2012. The report released Monday outlined the number of visits and the economic impact at the country’s more than 400 sites in the national park system. Nearly 23.4 million recreation visits were recorded at Virginia’s national sites in 2012. Only Washington, D.C., and California recorded more visits. According to the report, visitors in Virginia spent $926.3 million while visiting those sites. That spending supports more than 13,250 jobs in Virginia. Overall, the national park system received 282.8 million recreation visits in 2012. Park visitors nationwide spent a total of $14.7 billion in local communities. Lodging accounts for most of that spending.
