I am a tourist. I love taking my wife to amazing places that we had no idea existed until we toured there. There are so many wonderful things in this world that they need to be discovered, explored and seen. Travel opened our eyes to the greatness of nature, of Man, and of God. I highly recommend travel, of any kind to any location for any length of time, to appreciate where we live and learn all that can be had.
Tourism is a great business. If one does a quick Google search and asks, “What is the purpose of attracting tourists?” One gets an interesting answer that boils down to one thing: MONEY! As more people come, more money comes. More money for local development, more money collected in taxes, more money for infrastructure, more money for everything. It makes sense to bring tourists to an area because they bring money, and lots of it.
In the summer of 2025 and the upcoming summer of 2026, the Canadian federal government will once again offer discounted and even free entry to National Parks across Canada. Tourism instills pride in the community, educates the public about why this attraction is important, and even if it is free to enter, tourists spend money on fuel, food and shopping in the immediate area. It makes sense to lower the price of an attraction so more people can enjoy it.
It is perplexing what is happening with the National Parks in the USA. Their prices are going up. Not a little up. A LOT UP! If you are an American, great, the price remains the same. But if you are a foreigner, like my wife and I, the price to visit a park might go up $100.
Yeah, a hundred bucks.
A $100 fee will be charged to any foreign tourist who wants to visit a National Park, in addition to the standard entry fee. Meaning, if an American wants to enter a Park that charges $30, a Canadian, or any other nationality, will have to pay $130.
I can understand the thinking behind this huge fee increase. Americans and their American taxes paid to establish the park in the first place. Americans deserve to benefit from this cost and reap the rewards of preserving a natural wonder or heritage site. As a Canadian, I do not pay tax to the USA. When I travel on toll roads in the USA, I pay an additional fee. For instance, I drive through New York and pay a little more than someone who lives there. This fee is applied to anyone who is not a New York taxpayer and is small and barely noticeable on the bill. That extra fee is like a road-maintenance tax I would have paid if I lived in New York. I see this as fair, and I never complain.
But the price hike to a National Park is excessive. It becomes a hindrance to visiting a park. Why would I, or any other tourist, want to spend $100 extra? That money can be better spent elsewhere, like not at the National Park. Like, a different location, or even a different country altogether. This is not how to attract tourists to a location. This is exactly how to scare tourists away.
Our summer 2025 trip was called America the Beautiful, after the National Parks Pass offered in the USA. I purchased it and used it well during the summer. I had even considered renewing it when it expires next summer. With this announcement of a huge fee increase, it is unlikely I will renew or even visit another American National Park. This is really a shame to see a large section of America now inaccessible because it is no longer affordable. I like visiting the USA and all it has to offer, and these trips may be cut short soon.
But I also want to get as much out of my money as I can. Since I already possess an America the Beautiful Pass that is good until halfway through summer, I am going to see as much as we can before it is too late and too expensive. Instead of sticking to Canada this summer, as I had initially planned to visit Vancouver Island, BC, I will now focus on an entirely American trip, especially since it may be our last one for a long time. I created a map showing the places in Canada and the USA where National Parks charge a fee. Many free parks in both countries are not included on this map. I am uncertain that I might have to pay a fee at an American Park that is free to enter. If this fee even applies to those, I can see all National Parks being inaccessible to the average foreign tourist.
