Trump’s plan to drive all foreigners away seems to be well under way and centered in making the experience in America as terrible as possible for them. Between deporting them for no reason and holding them in cells, the news are full of outraged individuals that have been abused and attacked. But tourism has always been a big part of the American economy, and now there is another nail in the coffin for some of the most popular parks amongst foreign tourists, and that is that now international visitors will have to pay more to enter these locations.
Considering the gravity of the rest of the issues occurring, this might seem like a trivial matter, but it is just one more measure that is meant to, in theory, out Americans first that will backfire once more when visitors refuse to come into the country, let alone pay the fees.
The new national park fees that will be implemented for foreign tourists
National Parks in the US are managed by the National Park Service (NPS), a government agency that not only ensures that they are fully staffed, but that also takes care of their maintenance and repairs. National Parks are considered by many a national reassure that should be preserved, but others, like most Republicans, see them as a waste of land, money and resources that could be better used to make more profit. After all, who cares about the environment?
This is not the first time that the NPS has had to protect these lands from President Trump, as during his first term he also wanted to increase the entrance fee to some of the most popular parks to profit off them. At the time, the NPS was able to hold off, but this time around he is wielding a lot more executive power and forcing the measures through.
Luckily for Americans, the price increase will not affect them, just foreigners who will now have a different set of prices to enter treasures like Yosemite, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon National Parks.
In its 2026 budget proposal, the Department of the Interior projected that raising national park entrance fees for international tourists could bring in upwards of $90 million, however, no official details have been released about the new pricing or when it will be implemented. Currently, entrance costs differ by park, some are free, while major destinations like Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon charge $20 per individual or $35 per car.
While the proposal seems to imply tha the extra funds would go back into caring for these properties, the reality is we all know it would not. More cuts are expected in the NPS and a lot of staff has already been fired. In fact, there have already been several attempts to sell protected land for profit, so no promises regarding the integrity of the NPS should be believed.
Trump still seems to be intent on making the point though, at a rally in Iowa he stated “To fund improvements and enhanced experiences across the park system, I’ve just signed an executive order to raise entrance fees for foreign tourists while keeping prices low for Americans. The national parks will be about America first.”
But words do not mean much when actions are being taken that directly contradict them, like the fact hat he has fired a lot of rangers or the fact that he has revoked a 2017 memorandum signed by President Obama which promoted diversity and inclusion on federally managed public lands.
As many of the announced measures have failed to be implemented because of technical difficulties, hopefully this is one more that goes into the broken promises pile, but visitors should be prepared to have to pay a steeper entrance fee.