Grand Canyon businesses blame $100 foreign visitor fee for drop in tourism

Tour operators around the Grand Canyon say the $100 surcharge on non-U.S. residents, in effect since January at 11 national parks, is driving away international visitors, as a lawsuit challenges the fee.

Businesses around the Grand Canyon say a $100 surcharge on foreign visitors is hurting tourism, Cronkite News reported. Since January, non-U.S. residents have paid the extra fee on top of the standard $20 to $35 entrance fee at 11 of the 63 national parks, including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion.

Foreign visitors can instead buy a $250 annual pass, compared with $80 for U.S. residents. The surcharge stems from a July 2025 executive order by President Donald Trump, and the Interior Department has projected it would bring in more than $90 million a year; it generated about $22.5 million in the first half of 2026.

Grand Canyon at Hopi Point

Grand Canyon Journeys said it usually books about 10 tours a year for German-speaking visitors but had only one such group through October. Tourism Economics reported that overseas arrivals, excluding Canada and Mexico, fell 5.8% from January to August compared with 2025, a decline that began before the fee.

Across Arizona Tours has sued the Interior Department in federal court, arguing that only Congress can authorize such a fee and calling the surcharge "unprecedented and unlawful." The National Park Service says the higher fees help maintain parks and improve the visitor experience.

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