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Pasted below is an article from the SF Chronicle. The author strongly suggests that the decrease in National Park attendance observed during the past several years correlates to increased user fees. To make the comparison even more convincing, she contrasts NP attendance with California State Park visitation for the same time period ... a period in the State Parks characterized by a 50% reduction in entrance fees and a 30% INCREASE in visitation.
In light of these data, it is curious that not one of the four agencies currently collecting fees under the fee-demo program have ever publicly so much as contemplated the possibility that these new, and/or higher user fees, are responsible for reduced visitation. Its' odd. It's almost as if these land managers were deliberately trying to hide something from the American People or from Congress!!
Scott
---begin quoted---
August 20, 2002
In-state travel on the rise after Sept. 11
LOUISE CHU, Associated Press Writer
SACRAMENTO (AP) - Tourism was expected to be among the hardest hit
industries after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But with leisure
travel volume up 3.4 percent from last year, state officials say
California's tourism industry has managed to emerge relatively
unscathed.
The industry's success has been largely attributed to the rise of
in-state travel, as Californians have opted to drive rather than fly
while on vacation. Between December 2001 and February 2002, almost 64
million California residents traveled within the state, up 7.2 percent
from the previous year.
"Because of the difficulty people perceive in flying to other places,
they have looked at staying closer to home," said Lon Hatamiya,
chairman of the California Travel and Tourism Commission.
Hatamiya also credited an $13 million statewide ad campaign, aimed at
encouraging California residents to explore local attractions, with the
boost in numbers.
State parks, in particular, have experienced a significant increase,
with record-high attendance this year, said Ruth Coleman, acting
director of the California State Parks. So far this year, more than 86
million people have visited state parks, such as Old Town San Diego,
Bolsa Chica State Beach near Los Angeles and Folsom Lake in Sacramento.
Coleman said the increase is a result of a number of factors, including
the state's population growth, the ad campaign and the recent reduction
in state park entrance fees. Since Gov. Gray Davis cut state park fees
in half two years ago, attendance has risen 30 percent, according to
state reports.
Coleman said Davis "bucked the trend" at a time when national parks
increased their fees. The higher prices, she said, may be why national
parks have been faltering in recent years. Yosemite National Park
officials, for instance, report that visits are down 10 percent this
year.
But Arthur Eck, acting Pacific West regional director of the National
Parks Service, emphasized that attendance is "highly variable from park
to park."
Another business benefiting from the increased in-state travel is
winter snow sports, which finished this past season "dead even" with
the year before, said Bob Roberts, executive director of the California
Ski Industry Association.
He added that this past season's 7.4 million visits is especially
impressive because Southern California also experienced one of its
worst snowfall seasons in more than four decades.
"That usually means a disaster for Southern California. To the
contrary, the three major resorts there almost equaled last year, which
were very heavy snow years, and their yields were even higher," Roberts
said.
"It was our local markets that really sustained us this year."
One area that still seems to be feeling the effects of the economic
downturn is hotel and lodging, which James Abrams, executive vice
president of the California Hotel and Lodging Association, called "a
checkered situation right now."
He said hotels and motels have suffered particularly from the dip in
business travel, which still lags behind leisure travel in recovery.
the results was a 19.7 percent industrywide drop in 2001.
Cities, such as San Francisco, that depend heavily on air traffic to
bring in visitors have been especially hurt in the hotel business. At
San Francisco International Airport, domestic passenger travel was down
17 percent through May from last year.
But Abrams said cities than attract "drive business," including San Diego, Lake Tahoe and Sacramento, have been doing well.
"As air travel becomes of more stable quality, as people feel more
comfortable with security, I think people will go back to staying in
hotels and motels," Abrams said.
Overall, California remains the most visited state in the country, with
11.6 percent of the total market share in 2001. Its closest competitors
last year were Texas, Florida and New York.
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- Land management 
