VAN BUREN -- The Jolly Cone Drive-In, a Van Buren, Mo., is a local icon that employs nearly 30 people during the months it opens for tourism season.
Loved by locals, it also serves national and international visitors to the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.
Just Sunday, owner Betty Helvey visited with a couple from Switzerland on the eatery's patio.
The Riverways helped create almost 900 jobs in 2014, with visitor spending topping $53.9 million, states a report released last week by the National Park Service.
Approximately 1.3 million people visited the Riverways in the last year, according to the 2014 National Park Visitor Spending Effects report.
Visitors were up nearly 43,000 over the previous year.
National park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy, ONSR Acting Superintendent Larry Johnson said in a press release.
It returns $10 for every $1 invested in the National Park Service and is a big factor in the local economy as well, he said.
"Ozark National Scenic Riverways welcomes visitors from across the country and around the world," said Johnson. "We are delighted to share the story of this place and the experiences it provides. We also feature the park as a way to introduce our visitors to this part of the country and all that it offers."
The Riverways celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014.
Float trips and boating on the Current and Jacks Fork rivers are among the most popular activities, but the park also contains more than 100 historic structures.
A 120-year-old mill is preserved at Alley Mill in Shannon County and cabins built by the Civilian Conservation Corps are currently undergoing renovations at Big Spring in Carter County.
Big Spring is one of the largest springs in the Western hemisphere.
Family vacations are what Helvey sees most of those who visit the Jolly Cone, which has served Van Buren for 63 years.
This is Helvey's second year as owner of the business, but she grew up visiting the drive-in and making trips to the river with her family.
"We love the river," Helvey said.
The Riverways is the second most visited of Missouri's six NPS sites, behind the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, which contains the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
It ranks 59th for visitors out of 367 park service sites nationwide.
"It brings a lot of tourists into the town," agreed Helvey.
The Riverways is glad to be able to give back by helping sustain the local communities, said Johnson.
Nearly 70 percent of the total visitors to the park in 2014 were non-local, according to the report. Almost 89 percent of spending was non-local.
Missouri is also home to the Harry S. Truman National Historic Site at Grandview, Wilson's Creek National Battlefield at Republic, George Washington Carver National Monument at Diamond, and the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site at St. Louis.
The state saw approximately 3.4 million visitors to its NPS sites, with about 1.8 million at the Jefferson Memorial.
Visitor spending was more than $241 million statewide.