Tag: zion tours

Zion Canyon National Park has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States.  This is actually a little unusual due to the fact that only a few years ago the majority of national parks were suffering from a lack of tourism interest, and the depressed number of visitors each year put them squarely into the debate as far as funding goes.  Those with political interests that involve defunding the national parks and turning them over to the states within which they reside understand that the required upkeep would put a strain on states that are already in financial distress, potentially opening up the discussion of selling them off to private companies for development.  While there are legitimate concerns on both political sides of the issue, the fact remained that if tourism to the parks like Zion would increase, it would legitimize their federal funding.  An advertising campaign called "Find Your Park" was initiated in order to expand awareness of the national parks of the American southwest, and illustrate some of their high points.  The campaign was successful and tourism numbers increased, but at Zion they exploded.  Zion became far more popular than most other national parks in the area, and while there are those with a preference for Zion's landscape that would argue that it saw larger numbers than it's counterparts due to it's beauty, a more logical reason probably exists.  That reason is the fact that it is only a short drive from Las Vegas. The majority of tourists who visit southwestern national parks are not from the immediate area, and re going to have to fly to a nearby city in order to secure transportation to the park either in the form of a rental car or a tour being arranged.  The nearest cities