President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to increase entry fees to U.S. national parks for foreign visitors.
The White House said the additional revenue would go toward improving infrastructure and enhancing visitor access and enjoyment across the National Park System.
Newsweek contacted the Interior Department and the National Park Service via email on Friday outside regular working hours.
Why It Matters
At a rally on Thursday, the president described the increase in foreign visitor fees as an extension of his administration’s “America First” policies to the tourism industry.
The fee increase could also help cover funding gaps as the Trump administration seeks to dramatically cut the National Park Service’s budget.
What To Know
The new executive order instructs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to “develop a strategy to increase revenue and improve the recreational experience at national parks by appropriately increasing entrance fees and recreation pass fees for nonresidents in areas of the National Park System that charge” such fees.
It did not specify when fees would rise or by how much.
Of the 433 park units managed by the National Park Service, about 100 charge admission fees, the costs of which vary.
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The order also said American residents should be given “preferential treatment” in accessing national parks.
The Interior Department estimated that a surcharge for foreign visitors would generate more than $90 million annually in its 2026 fiscal year budget proposal.
The move to increase fees for foreign visitors comes as the Trump administration has proposed cutting the National Park Service’s budget by more than $1 billion, a third of its budget the prior year, and has sought to reduce the size of its staff.
The number of permanent staff at the agency has dropped by 24 percent since Trump took office in January, according to analysis by the National Parks Conservation Association.
Thursday’s executive order also revoked a memorandum that then-President Barack Obama signed in January 2017, which sought to promote diversity and inclusion at national parks.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump said at a rally in Iowa on Thursday: “To fund improvements and enhanced experiences across the park system, for this anniversary I’ve just signed an executive order to raise entrance fees for foreign tourists while keeping prices low for Americans. And we’re going to do that. The national parks will be about America First.”
What Happens Next
While the executive order directs the secretary of the interior to develop a strategy for increasing fees on foreign visitors, it does not set a timeline or specify by how much the fees will rise.
The secretary is expected to offer details about implementation in the coming months.