Donald Trump is extending his “America first” dogma to US national parks with a new policy that will hike fees for foreign visitors to make them “more affordable” for locals. The Department for the Interior, which runs the country’s parks, said non-residents will have to pay $250 (£190) for annual passes to the outdoor spaces, while US citizens will continue to be charged $80 (£60) from January 2026. Foreign visitors without an annual pass will also be charged a $100 (£75) per person fee to enter 11 of the US’s most popular national parks from the same date, on top of the standard entrance fee.
The parks included in the latter category include Bryce Canyon in Utah, the Everglades in Florida, Glacier in Montana and Yellowstone. “President Trump‘s leadership always puts American families first,” an official statement read. “These policies ensure that US taxpayers, who already support the National Park System, continue to enjoy affordable access, while international visitors contribute their fair share to maintaining and improving our parks for future generations.”
The department also announced the introduction of resident-only patriotic fee-free days from next year, including on President’s Day on February 16, Memorial Day on May 25, Independence Day weekend and Mr Trump’s birthday on June 14.
Changes to park admission in January will be accompanied by an upgraded online booking system and better motorcylist access.
It comes after the protected areas, which spread across 30 states, welcomed record numbers of tourists in recent years with over 331 million visitors in 2024, an annual rise of more than 6 million.
But it also follows governmental cuts to the National Park Service budget, with the agency losing 24% of permanent employees since Mr Trump returned to the White House in a trend linked to reduced funds and slashed staffing numbers, the New York Times (NYT) reports.
The changes have also been criticised by tour operators across America, especially family-run firms who described the planned measures as a “surprise attack”.
“There is a chunk of our clientele who are just barely able to scrape together enough money for the tour, and now they may opt out,” Mabry Word, co-owner of Bryce Canyon Scenic Tours, who has many customers from Europe and Asia, told the NYT.
“The families from Europe are not going to want to pay for their kids, but they’re not going to leave their kids at home, either.”
US national parks and monuments are visited by 14 million international visitors a year, according to a 2018 estimate by the US Travel Association.