National Park Neighborhoods

Before you get to the national park, you reach the town at its doorstep, complete with restaurants, motels, assorted tourist services, shops, amusements, and lots of real-estate agencies. Such towns are called gateway communities, and they’re flash points for tourism development.

In Traveler magazine’s April issue, our “TravelWatch” column reveals how the goings on in gateways can affect natural rhythms inside the park—not to mention the quality of your park visit. Two park neighborhoods, in different countries, show two different approaches.

At Banff National Park, where the ecosystem has been suffering, town tourism leaders are beginning to question the wisdom of catering to visitors who come more for shopping and golf than for the wildlife and scenery of the Canadian Rockies.

But in Tennessee, Chambers of Commerce are cheering as commercial development and multilane highway widening surge next to the equally stressed Great Smokies National Park. After all, why shouldn’t people have outlet shops and fun attractions if they’re coming to see the park?

The question comes down to which types of tourism most suit a park environment.

This month, the Tourism Forum asks: Do nearby shopping malls and amusement rides improve your visit to a national park?

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—Jonathan B. Tourtellot

Jonathan B. Tourtellot is Traveler magazine’s geotourism editor.

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