A Grand Canyon Tour Operator Is Suing Over the $100 Foreigner Fee

A Phoenix-based van tour operator in the Grand Canyon, Across Arizona Tours, has sued over the National Park Service’s higher fees for international visitors, the Portland Press Herald reported on October 30. The company filed the lawsuit in September and argues Congress never authorized higher entrance fees for nonresidents.

Under the policy, which took effect in January, the America the Beautiful annual digital pass stayed at 80 dollars for US residents but rose to 250 dollars for nonresidents. International visitors aged 16 and older without the annual pass pay a 100 dollar per-person surcharge on top of the standard entrance fee at Acadia and a group of other busy parks, among them Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion and the Grand Canyon.

The complaint says the co-owner has spoken with 80 to 90 people who decided not to book a tour, mostly because of the higher fees, and says the company has seen a decline in business among nonresident customers. The Interior Department did not answer questions about the effect on visitation, though Secretary Doug Burgum said in August the policy had generated 20 million dollars in new funding for parks.

Acadia reported more than 3.3 million recreational visits through September, slightly fewer than a year earlier, without saying how many visitors were nonresidents. The federal government had not yet filed a response to the complaint. For international travelers planning 2027 park trips, the practical takeaway is that the surcharge is in force while the case plays out.

Sources: Portland Press Herald, NPR