Come Friday, the goverment will (hopefully) have come to an agreement regarding budget spending and proposed cut-backs, putting an end to the mounting tensions in Washington and nation-wide and officially stomping out the possibility of a federal shutdown.
In late 1995 and early 1996, the US experienced their last two major federal shutdowns – in what was descibed as a nationwide “trainwreck,”
“…hundreds of national parks closed, veterans’ checks and services were delayed, passport applications weren’t processed and billions of dollars in government contracts were held up. Analysts expect more of the same if no deal is struck this time around.” (USA Today)
During the 5-day and 21-day shutdowns of ’95 and ’96, 368 units in the National Park Service were shutdown – losing 7 million visitors. An additional 2 million visitors were turned away with the shuttering of National Monuments and museums, including the Smithsonian museums lining the National Mall. This time it would be worse – over 18 million people visited a National Park last March – a federal shutdown would put a damper on millions of people’s travel plans to our National Parks, infuriating each & every one turned away.
“Not only would a government shutdown jeopardize family trips and school field trips to places like the Statue of Liberty, we are concerned it would have a significant impact on the local communities and businesses that depend on tourism.” (John Garder of the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association.)
“Utah’s five national parks, seven national monuments and two national recreation areas are mainstays of the state’s $6.3 billion tourism industry…If they close, tourists “might decide to either postpone or change (vacation plans) all together,” says Keith Griffall of Western Leisure, a company that runs motorcoach tours.” (USA Today Travel)
Let’s hope that the government can sort this out before Friday comes. Could your travel plans be derailed if the we see another federal shutdown?