Visitor Experience Stewardship

Vehicular congestion on Cades Cove Loop Road.

NPS Photo

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is consistently the most visited national park in the country. It lies within a day’s drive of more than half the U.S. population and thus offers the opportunity for tens of millions of people to have a national park experience close to home while also drawing visitors from around the world. Providing a high-quality visitor experience has grown more challenging due to increasing visitation which has resulted in congested roadways, overflowing parking lots, roadside soil erosion, vegetation trampling, and long lines at restroom and visitor center facilities.

 

Visitor Experience Stewardship Goals:

Provide better access, improve safety, and protect resources

 

The chart shows annual visitation to Great Smoky Mountains National Park from 2000 to 2023.

NPS graph

Visitation Statistics

13.3 million visitors came to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2023 compared to the 10-year average of 11.5 million. Over the last decade, there has been a 42% increase in visitation. In 2022, park visitors spent an estimated $2.1 billion in local gateway regions while visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park. These expenditures supported a total of 32.6 thousand jobs in local gateway economies surrounding the park.

 

Past Work

 

 

Visitor Experience Stewardship Newsletters

• January 2021 Edition
• March 2021 Edition
• January 2022 Edition
• February 2023 Edition

 

Visitor Use Studies

Visitor Use Study (Summer 2022)

In the summer of 2022, Great Smoky Mountains National Park commissioned a survey of visitors in the park. With this survey, we sought to better understand who's coming to the park, how they plan their trips, what they come to see and do, and their perceptions of the park. 

Data was collected between June 4 - 13 and August 4 - 10, 2022, using both in-person interviews and mail-back surveys of randomly selected people at key park locations. 

Key Findings: 

• The majority of visitor groups (81%) are not residents of the local area.

• The median length of stay for in the local area was 4 days. 

• Approximately 62% of respondents visited Gatlinburg on their trip to GRSM with 50% visiting Pigeon Forge. Among the lesser visited sites were Cherokee (24%), Sevierville (19%), and Townsend (16%).

• Almost ½ (48%) of respondents planned to spend more than 2 hours outside of their vehicle on the day intercepted in GRSM. Approximately 21% of all respondents were not planning on spending any time outside of their vehicle or were just passing through.

• The most commonly visited location in GRSM was Cades Cove (39% of respondents had either been there or planned to visit it on their trip), followed by Sugarlands Visitor Center (28%) and Clingmans Dome (20%).

Dowload the full report

Visitor Use Study (Summer 2008)

In the summer of 2018, researchers conducted a visitor survey on behalf of the National Park Service. Surveys were administered June 22-28, 2008. A total of 1,147 questionnaires were distributed to visitor groups. Of those, 748 questionnaires were returned resulting in a 65.2% response rate.

Key Findings: 

• Thirty-eight percent of visitor groups were in groups of two and 46% were in groups of four or more. Seventy-eight percent of visitor groups were in family groups.

• United States visitors comprised 98% of total visitors, from Tennessee (14%), Florida (11%), and 37 other states. International visitors represented 2% of total visitation, with 27% from United Kingdom, 22% from Canada, and seven other countries.

• Fifty-two percent of visitors had visited the park once in their lifetime, while 38% had visited four or more times.

• Of visitor groups that spent less than 24 hours visiting the park, 55% spent five or more hours. For those who visited for more than one day, 17% spent four days. The average length of stay, including hours and days was 44 hours (1.8 days)

Download the full report

Visitor Use Study (Fall 2008)

In the fall of 2018, researchers conducted a visitor survey on behalf of the National Park Service. The survey was administered during October 5-11, 2008. A total of 1,143 questionnaires were distributed to visitor groups. Of those, 781 questionnaires were returned resulting in a 68.3% response rate.

Key Findings: 

• Fifty-four percent of visitor groups were in groups of two and 33% were in groups of four or more. Most (74%) visitor groups were in family groups

• United States visitors comprised 98% of total visitation, from Tennessee (21%), Kentucky (11%), and 39 other states. International visitors represented 2% of total visitation, with 26% from Canada, 26% from the United Kingdom, and eight other countries.

• Forty-two percent of visitors had visited the park five or more times , while 36% had visited once.

• Of visitor groups that spent less than 24 hours visiting the park, 53% spent five or more hours. Of groups that spent more than 24 hours, 27% spent three days. The average length of stay was 44.6 hours (1.9 days).

Download the full report