A: “Our souvenirs tend to remind us of the pleasant things on vacation, but we also use them to impress the people back home. They are a way of showing off,” wrote Psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers.

Aha, just as suspected: souvenirs are also display bling!!

One for the Road: The Origins of America's Souvenir Obsession

Q: What is the scale of national parks, its visitors, and those visitors’ souvenir spending?

A: In 2014, the 401 (!) U.S. national parks were visited by 331 million people – a figure 39 times the population of New York City (8,537,673). Wowzers. These many millions of visitors spent a collective $18.4 billion within the national parks’ gateway regions, defined as within 60 miles of the park.

And, get this, 10% of that total – almost 2 billion dollars ($2,000,000,000)– was spent on souvenirs!

National park visitors inject billions into the US economy

Q: What is the no. 1 most common souvenir bought around the world by millions of people annually?

A:  The no. 1 most common souvenir bought around the world by millions of people is a magnet. Yes, the lowly magnet. (And yes, the shameless plug.) If you’re a gift industry insider, you already know this.  

But why are magnets so sought-out? Yes to your guess. They're small, affordable display bling, but also offer so much variety!  As excerpted from List Dose,

“The best part about magnets is that they’re extremely small and fit anywhere in your bag so you don’t have to worry about making space for them in your luggage. Also, you can buy 10 different magnets with 10 different designs on them to gift to 10 different people. Personally, I believe that magnets make a boring refrigerator look super fun and also remind you of all the little memories associated with the place.”

10 Most Common Souvenirs you can Gift Someone

Q: Which one person should not be overlooked when stocking souvenirs?

A: The kid, the child, the munchkin, the life sucker. Whatever you want to call that mini person, s/he is definitely not lowly when it comes to purchasing power.

“Souvenirs are not just an adult thing.  Children love toys and toys are souvenirs when purchased at a place that brings back or lets them hold that memory a lot longer.”

And

“My kids want this so I’m going to buy it before they make a scene.”

You’re welcome.
(Including for maybe your first ever funny seagull.)

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