resource. Harkin often described parks in economic terms. In the Parks Branch's first Annual Report, he stated the value of Canadian scenery at $13.88/acre, while wheat land was worth $4.91/acre. He recognized that unlike most natural resources, large sales of scenery could be sold in perpetuity without any decline in value or capital stock. The National Parks of Canada were established largely to stimulate traffic on the Canadian Pacific Railway. The railway attracted tourists to Rocky Mountain National Park. Harkin further developed national parks with the goal of economic prosperity. Parks would increase tourism and profitability for the government, railroads, and small businesses. In order to garner political support for parks development, Harkin communicated the profitable opportunities they could provide Canada. Initially, the Parks Branch focused on enticing foreign visitors to Canada. Canadian national parks were largely accessible by wealthy American tourists who stayed at hotels and travelled by railway: 95% of people travelling to Canada were American. Thus, Harkin's initial goal was to extend this flow of American tourists into Canada. By the 1920s, the Parks Branch shifted their focus and began targeting Canadians. Formerly, critics argued that the government was subsidizing parks for wealthy foreigners. Harkin suggested that the automobile now made it logistically and financially possible for more middle-class Canadian tourists to access the national parks. Parks located near cities were now widely accessible, allowing workers to spend weekends camping or fishing. The Parks Branch began promoting parks as attractive tourism that heals and invigorates the hardworking business man. Responding to the increased use of automobiles, Harkin redefined the Branch's goals from servicing a foreign and local "recreationist" to the broader "Canadian". Harkin relied on free publicity to promote tourism. The Parks Branch Annual Report outlined the commercial and humanitarian benefits of parks. These mandatory publications were sent to Members of Parliament and newspapers across Canada. They became the Parks Branch's initial marketing tool. In the 1920s, Harkin appointed Mabel Williams to author guidebooks and literature that promoted parks as a Canadian birthright that made one physically stronger, psychologically renewed, and spiritually fulfilled. With increased tourism, the Branch could afford printing the guidebooks. Their spending in the government printing department jumped from $2000 to almost $13,000 in one year. The Parks Branch created a Publicity Division to promote Canada's parks through guidebooks, lectures, slide presentations, and motion pictures. This successful division would later form the Canadian Government