Look to the stars…and cash in on constellations

Four Corners Navajo Tribal Park is the hub of the famous Colorado Plateau, encompassing large chunks of four adjoining states – Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. Tourism is a shared vital industry here. 

The Colorado Plateau has the greatest concentration of U.S. National Park Service (NPS) units in the country outside of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The national parks of the plateau include: Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches, Mesa Verde and Petrified Forest.

There are also 18 national monuments in the region, and one of them is Natural Bridges, located in southeastern Utah, about 50 miles from the Four Corners marker. The monument’s three bridges are connected by separate 9-mile scenic driving and hiking loops. 

In 2007, the International Dark-Sky Association named Natural Bridges as America’s first International Dark Sky Park; it has some of the darkest and clearest skies in the entire United States.

Booking.com, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is one of the world’s leading digital travel companies. It ranks Natural Bridges as “the best astrotourism site in America. When the sun goes down, all eyes are drawn to the sky. With nearly zero light pollution, it is…perfect for stargazing.”

 

Utah’s tourism office says: “There’s just something about a sky full of stars that makes you feel connected with the world – and galaxy – around you. Natural Bridges is the perfect place to see the Milky Way in all its glory. You can see as many as 15,000 stars with your naked eye.”

In 2019, professors David Mitchell and Terrel Gallaway of Missouri State University reported: “Tourists to national parks are increasingly interested in observing this natural recreational amenity (stars in the night sky) – especially considering that it is an ecological amenity that is quickly disappearing from the planet.”

 The stars aren’t dimming; their brilliance is just being diluted by increasing urbanization. Intensified lighting within metropolitan areas creates a ‘sky glow’ that can be seen from more than 100 miles away,” the professors said. 

Drs. Mitchell and Gallaway give five gold-star ratings to the national parks in the Colorado Plateau region for providing visitors with the “opportunity to experience nature and see wildlife and picturesque vistas” by day…and also experience “the nocturnal world in its wild and natural state” by night.

 

The Missouri State economists said: The Colorado Plateau “is an immense area with skies dark enough and clear enough to make it the envy of the world.” 

“Consequently, the Colorado Plateau has a very unique and substantial potential for night sky tourism. Importantly, dark skies give tourists a reason to extend visits to include one or more overnight stays.” 

The professors rationalize: “Most national parks have a surge of visitors in the summer months, but far fewer visitors in the other seasons. Stargazing is, in many ways, better in the late fall, winter and early spring, due to longer nights.” 

Hence, “dark skies grow in value as an amenity during off-peak times and can, therefore, be used to spur tourism during the off season.” 

The numbers are staggering. “In the 10 years from 2015 to 2024,” the economists forecast “visitors will spend nearly $5.75 billion visiting NPS parks on the Colorado Plateau trying to see a dark sky at night. 

“The total effect…is to create an average of 10,127 additional jobs per year, increasing wages in the states by more than $2.423 billion.”