Yellowstone National Park announced on Thursday that it broke its yearly attendance record, tallying 3.8 million visits year-to-date in 2015, according to . The number, reached after 680,213 visits in September, surpassed the previous record of 3.6 million visits in 2010.聽
鈥淭his is certainly a noteworthy event,鈥澛燚an Wenk, superintendent of聽Yellowstone National Park, said in the release. 鈥淲e are delighted to see that more and more visitors are making their way to Yellowstone to experience the park.鈥
Park officials attribute the growth to the lower gas prices, tourism campaigns in Wyoming and Montana, and the聽National Park Service鈥檚 鈥淔ind Your Park鈥 initiative, which聽targets millennials and urbanites on social media.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 really not a surprise to us,鈥 Daryl Schliem, president and CEO of the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce, told 国产吃瓜黑料 on Wednesday.聽(Bozeman, Montana,聽is close to Yellowstone鈥檚 North Entrance.)
Schliem said that a $2-a-night hotel tax, implemented in 2010, raises $1 million each year for advertising and tourism initiatives.聽
In addition to increased attendance, there have also been several wildlife attacks at Yellowstone聽this year. A grizzly bear killed one hiker聽who was hiking alone, and聽five visitors in 2015 were聽聽while attempting to take聽selfies.