National park tourism, spending recovers from pandemic but still lags

WASHINGTON – National parks in Arizona welcomed 10.7 million visitors who pumped $1.12 billion into local economies in 2021, both sharp increases from the pandemic-induced lows of the year before, according to the National Park Service. While the numbers were still shy of their pre-pandemic levels, in the state and nationally, Arizona tourism officials were not complaining about the report for 2021. “National Parks’ a huge part of our city,” Flagstaff Mayor Paul Deasy said. “Small business…