GATLINBURG (AP) — A new National Park Service report found visitors to Great Smoky Mountains National Park spent more than $1 billion in the surrounding communities last year, according to a news release from the park.

That spending supported more than 14,000 jobs in the local area. The Smokies had more than 12 million visitors in 2020, despite the global pandemic.

"In spite of an incredibly difficult year in the world and in our neighboring communities, we are proud to have worked alongside our communities to serve visitors to this area in 2020," Smokies Superintendent Cassius Cash said.

The economic data is part of a peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis conducted by economists with the National Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. Nationally, they found that visitors spent $14.5 billion in communities within 60 miles of the national parks.