Grand Canyon celebrates six millionth visitor at end of centennial year
GRAND CANYON, Ariz. -- Grand Canyon National Park celebrated its 6 millionth visitor as its final National Park Service Centennial event.
The Johnson family from Las Vegas, Nevada, claimed the honor last week. James and Abigail Johnson and their kids Sophia and Elijah were first time visitors to Grand Canyon National Park.
“At first I didn’t think it was real”, exclaimed Sophia, “but I’m really happy we’re the 6 millionth!”
Grand Canyon’s six millionth visitors were greeted at South Entrance Station and led to Park Headquarters where Superintendent Chris Lehnertz , park staff, and community members welcomed them and presented them with gifts from Grand Canyon Association, Xanterra, Tusayan Chamber of Commerce and Bright Angel Bikes.
The six millionth visitor signifies a landmark for Grand Canyon National Park, which has seen a steady increase in visitation since 2011. This year alone, visitation has increased by 7.5% with help from national campaigns like ‘Find Your Park’, a social media public campaign to raise awareness of the NPS Centennial. Since its establishment in 1919, Grand Canyon National Park has received more than 200 million visitors.
Celebrating the 6 millionth visitor is a significant milestone that all park staff and community are proud of. As the NPS Centennial year comes to an end, the Grand Canyon team is looking forward to its own centennial celebration in 2019 when it will continue to inspire future generations to be stewards of public lands.
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