With the government beginning to reopen, it’s still too soon to tell how hard the shutdown hit Teton County’s tourism-based economy, if at all.
But initial data show the worst fears appear not to have played out, according to officials and at least one business owner.
Those fears were outlined by town councilor and economist Jonathan Schechter, who penned six letters to Wyoming congresspeople and federal agency heads — one a week for the duration of the 43-day shutdown, the longest in U.S. history.
The largely symbolic gesture urged officials to reopen the government and attempted to communicate potential impacts of the shutdown on the ecosystem’s health, hundreds of federal employees and the economic vitality of the region.
The ecosystem’s health appears to have been largely unimpacted by tourists as the park remained open with limited staff and no reports of the damage reported at parks in other states. Some federal workers struggled, though, without paychecks as community nonprofits aimed to distribute food and money for gas and emergencies.
Schechter called local restaurants, hotels and the airport to ask how they’ve fared, trying to answer if the local economy was impacted. He’s still waiting on state and federal data but his calls showed “it’s a mixed bag.”
“That unfortunately will not be supported by any data one way or the other for quite some time, if the data ever emerges to support the story at all," he said.
Councilors worried a shutdown would chill visitation. Before the shutdown, Teton County’s tourism spending was up 6% over 2024, according to the county treasurer’s figures. About 76% of the town’s revenue comes from sales tax, according to the town’s 2026 adopted budget.
Crista Valentino, executive director of the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board, is waiting on the full economic picture for October as well.
“There's a lot of information online that is unavailable and not updated,” she said.
The board has been pushing visitors toward spring and fall, the “shoulder seasons,” for years.
“What we're seeing is that visitation numbers in October didn't decrease. In fact, they increased, which is a trend we've been seeing year over year,” she said.
Business owner Taylor Phillips saw a small dip. He owns Ecotours, which leads daily year-round trips in the park.
“We definitely had a lot of concerned visitors and we had some cancellations,” Phillips said.
His business had fewer reservations this October than last, which he attributes to the shutdown, though he, Valentino and Schechter said the greatest impact was on federal employees.
