Visitors spent nearly $3.7 million at Casa Grande Ruins, down from 2017

PHOENIX — Visitors spent less money at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in 2018 for the second consecutive year.

The Casa Grande Ruins National Monument welcomed nearly 63,000 visitors in 2018 who spent nearly $3.7 million at the park, according to a release by the National Park Service.

In 2017 visitors spent nearly $4.3 million and in 2016 visitors spent $4.2 million.

“Casa Grande Ruins National Monument welcomes visitors from across the country and around the world,” said NPS acting superintendent Ray O’Neil in the release. “We are delighted to share the story of this place and the experiences it provides.”

Visitor spending at the park still helped sustain 54 jobs in the area and a contributed a cumulative economic output of nearly $5.5 million for the city.

In March, the site dropped the entry fee into the park following a cost-benefit analysis.

The site also saw a dip in visitor spending from 2012 when visitors spent $3.7 million to 2013 when visitors spent $3.6 million.

Although Arizona is home to many national parks, the Casa Grande Ruins is one of the closest parks to the Phoenix metro area.

The study released by NPS showed that nationally more than $20 billion were spent by more than 318 million visitors in 2018.

Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park spent the fourth-most money compared to all other parks in the nation at $947 million.

NPS created an interactive chart that displays figures for each site across the nation.

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