Nearly 40% of respondents to a AAA survey said they are more
likely to visit a national park in the next year compared to recent years, likely
building on the momentum of the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary next
month, said AAA.
According to the survey, 37% are more likely to visit a
national park in the next 12 months, while 42% reported no change in their
likelihood to visit a national park in the next year. Twenty-one percent said
they are less likely to visit a national park.
The survey found that 85% of adults have visited at least
one national park. Most of them (91%) drove to their destination, while others
flew (18%), took a train (10%) or a bus (10%), or cruised or took a boat (7%).
Survey respondents were permitted to give multiple modes of transportation.
When it came to accommodations, the majority (66%) said they
stayed in a hotel, lodge or motel when visiting a national park. Tent or RV
camping was also popular, with 41% reporting that was their form of
accommodations, while others stayed in a vacation rental (38%), family or
friend’s home (33%) or bed and breakfast (27%).
National parks are popular, with 73% of survey respondents
reporting they either agree or strongly agree that they are a must-see vacation
destination. Less than one-fifth (20%) neither agreed nor disagreed that
national parks are must-sees, while 9% either disagreed or strongly disagreed.
In destination, respondents’ favorite activities were
walking or hiking trails, sightseeing, fishing, wildlife viewing, and swimming,
snorkeling or scuba diving.
The top national parks that respondents wanted to visit were
Yellowstone, Yosemite and Grand Canyon.
“The demand for national parks is off the charts this year,
and it’s exciting to see that Americans are poised to take even more national
park vacations in the years to come,” said Bryan Shilling, managing director of
AAA Travel products and services. “In times of global uncertainty, many people
are turning to domestic vacations and the wide variety of national parks offer
something for every traveler to discover.”
AAA surveyed 1,012 U.S. adults contacted via telephone from
June 23 to 26.