by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:00 PM ET, Wed December 14, 2016
On Monday, officials from the Grand Canyon National Park announced that for the first time ever six million visitors arrived at the park in 2016.
According to The Associated Press, the record-breaking number is a nine percent increase over last year's total of 5,520,736 visitors.
It took the park 23 years to increase from four million annual visitors to five million, but it only took one year to climb from five million to six million. That's because it broke its previous record in 2015 as well-breaking the five million mark for the first time-marking an astounding 27 percent growth in terms of annual visits over the last two years.
Park officials believe the rise in tourists is due in part to the National Park Service's centennial celebration and the increased marketing in support of the surrounding events.
As for the lucky family who managed to be the six-millionth people to enter the park this year, the National Park Service identified them as the Johnson family from Las Vegas. The tourists were visiting the Grand Canyon National Park for the first time ever.
Despite the major accomplishments, it hasn't been a flawless year for the national park. A woman fell to her death at the Grand Canyon in April and several suicides have been reported at the site throughout 2016.
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