Japanese visitors are just now starting to visit the Pacific Northwest and this area, since tariff restrictions on Japan Airlines were lifted. Numbers of German visitors have also increased significantly. Average length of stay varies around the park, from as long as 3.5 days to a quarter hour. The park's 906 campsites and the nearly 2,400 campsites operated privately and by other government agencies are filled on major holidays and sunny weekends in summer. And, fully 25 percent of Olympic visitors stay overnight, compared to the 10 percent national average for overnight use in most national parks.
Visitors traveling to the north Olympic Peninsula are an essential part of the region's economy.
These dollars translate into jobs and business sales. Since Olympic National Park is a major attraction for most of the Peninsula's visitors, it plays an important role in the economic health of the region. A recreational visit is when a person enters land or waters administered by the National Park Service for recreational purpose, exclucing government personnel, commuters, trades-people, and people residing within park boundaries.