ST. LOUIS – The Gateway Arch drew more than 2.4 million visitors last year, marking the fourth straight year of an increase in tourism and also beating some pre-pandemic totals.

The National Park Service recently released visitation figures. NPS reports 2,422,836 visitors in 2023. That marks a 50% increase from visitation in 2022 and an 18% increase from 2019, the last year of pre-pandemic data made available.

“We are pleased to see such strong visitation in 2023,” said Jeremy Sweat, Superintendent of Gateway Arch National Park. “The National Park Service is looking forward to continued collaboration with our park partners to create high quality visitor experiences in 2024 and as we prepare for the reopening of the Old Courthouse in 2025, which will further expand opportunities for park visitors.”

“There’s so much to do Downtown, and we are hopeful that increased national tourism and current residential projects will drive Arch visitation even more,” said Ryan McClure, executive director of Gateway Arch Park Foundation. “The Gateway Arch National Park is a hub for St. Louisans and our visitors, and the investments made in it are paying dividends for our entire region.”

Last year, NPS adopted a more precise method to estimate visitors in Gateway Arch National Park. The methodology uses location-based mobile device data to track visitors’ movement throughout the park. This allows the park to more accurately estimate the number of visitors on the park grounds, who do not enter the Gateway Arch Visitor Center.

Arch officials credit improvements through the CityArchRiver project, new community events and additional sports events (CITY SC and Battlehawks) for the rise in tourism.

The Gateway Arch has stood tall (630 feet) in St. Louis since 1965. The Gateway Arch grounds earned National Park status in 2018.