America first. Donald Trump is hitting travelers again, this time in the wallet. After the"Travel Ban" prohibiting nationals of twelve countries(Afghanistan, Burma, Haiti, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Eritrea, Somalia, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Yemen) from entering the United States, the President has decided to raise the price of admission to national parks for foreign tourists. Tourism in the United States has been in sharp decline since President Trump's re-election. He explains that he wants to "raise entrance fees for foreigners, while keeping prices low for Americans". Indeed, the World Travel & Tourism Council estimates that the US economy will lose more than $12 billion this year.
According to the Council, the revenues generated will be used to improve the infrastructure of the country's national parks. Hundreds of park employees have been laid off since Donald Trump took office. This was largely due to budget cuts by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The president also justifies this increase by the need to promote access to parks for Americans.
Today, it costs between $20 and $30 per vehicle to enter a national park in the United States. For the moment, the U.S. Department of the Interior has not yet announced the amount of these new fees. In keeping with this "national preference" logic, American travelers will also benefit from priority access to reservation systems.
