Yosemite National Park’s Ahwahnee Hotel will soon be called “The Majestic Yosemite Hotel.”
The Park will have a new primary concessioner, March 1, 2016, as Yosemite Hospitality begins its 15-year contract to provide lodging, retail, recreational services, and food to over four million annual visitors to Yosemite.
“This is a new era in Yosemite and we are very excited to welcome Yosemite Hospitality LLC as the new primary concessioner in Yosemite National Park,” says Park Superintendent Don Neubacher.
A historic sign welcoming visitors was stolen on the eve of the significant name changes amid a bitter legal fight — over the names of park attractions.
Spokesperson Scott Gediman says the park’s iconic sign was stolen sometime between sunset Saturday, February 27th. to sunrise Sunday, February 28th.
Gediman says they hope to recover the sign.
Over four million visitors from all over the world tour Yosemite National Park each year, and it serves as a strong economic engine for the region and local communities, generating $535 million in benefits to the area.
The park is home to Yosemite Falls, the tallest waterfall in North America, and iconic rock formations such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and features around 90 different species of mammals and over 1500 species of flowering plants.
