The Department of the Interior has a new plan to help fund the U.S. National Parks: raise the price for foreign visitors.
The department recently published a document outlining its 2026 budget plans, and included in the brief is a plan to levy a surcharge on visitors coming from outside of the United States. According to the document, the fee could generate more than $90 million to help cover the costs of maintaining visitor services at national parks, which are facing a proposed budget cut of $1.2 billion next year
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The U.S. Department of the Interior is considering a surcharge for international visitors to national parks, aiming to help fund the National Park Service (NPS), which faces a $20 billion maintenance backlog and relies on limited entrance fee revenue.
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Research suggests that even a high surcharge is unlikely to deter international visitors, who already spend thousands to visit parks like Yellowstone. Given their willingness to pay, the surcharge could significantly reduce the financial burden on U.S. taxpayers without harming the outdoor recreation and tourism industry.
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The surcharge, originally recommended by the Property Environment and Research Center (PERC), is an innovative, fair, and market-driven solution to help preserve America’s national parks.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
