At the start of 2026, a new policy put in place by the Trump administration started requiring non-U.S. residents to pay a $100 entrance fee for 11 national parks such as Everglades, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton.
This came alongside raising the price of the America the Beautiful annual pass for multiple national parks to $250 for visitors from outside the U.S., up from the $80 it now costs for only U.S. residents.
Put in place by the Making America Beautiful Again by Improving Our National Parks executive order that President Donald Trump signed in July 2025, the policy was controversial from the beginning, due to what many see as unfair targeting of those who come to spend money in the U.S. as tourists.
Across Arizona Tours sues over international visitor fees for national parks
On Sept. 29, Across Arizona Tours, a tour group selling organized van trips to Grand Canyon National Park, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Arizona. It claimed that between 80 and 90 of its potential clients in recent months ultimately “decided not to reserve a tour with the company, most of whom indicated that their decision was related to the increased fees.”
The Across Arizona Tours complaint against the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and the National Park Service further claims that the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, signed into law in 2004 under the Bush administration, allows government agencies to implement new fees, but not through a tiered structure that discriminates against some visitors based on where they come from.
Related: 105-year-old historic hotel by national park files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
The lawsuit claims that the Department of Interior and Secretary Doug Burgum overstepped their authority and is asking the Arizona district court to block the fees from being charged at Grand Canyon.
Across Arizona Tours is suing over the $250 fee the Trump administration began charging international visitors to the Grand Canyon.Image source: Shutterstock
“Federal agencies cannot make up fees as they please”: lawsuit
“Federal agencies cannot make up fees as they please,” Jacob Haas, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation libertarian public interest nonprofit representing Across Arizona Tours in the lawsuit, said in a written statement, according to The Hill.
“Only Congress can authorize federal fees. And Congress has never authorized higher fees for nonresidents — not least because such a policy would discourage international tourism and hurt companies like Across Arizona Tours.”
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Over the last year, tourism-industry representatives and organizations, including the National Parks Conservation Association, have criticized the nonresident fee. They see it as poorly envisioned and hastily implemented, giving the impression that the Trump administration is “putting Americans first” while causing millions in lost international tourist dollars among local businesses.
The $22.5 million that Burgum said was generated from the fees in the first six months of 2026 also ended up being approximately 50% less than the “more than $90 million” that the Trump administration diverted away from national parks to various beautification projects around Washington, D.C., according to SFGate. This is despite the administration saying the fees would make up for the diverted funds.
A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior told The Hill that American visitors are already subsidizing national parks through their taxes, “while foreign tourists are paying higher entrance fees to help maintain our parks and improve visitor experiences.”
Related: Another national park closes hotels, campgrounds, overnight parking