There is a kernel of a good idea in the U.S. Interior Department’s announced plan to charge visitors from other nations more than it charges American residents to enter our national parks.
Too bad that idea is embedded in layers of xenophobia and bad economics.
The plan threatens to dent both park admission revenues and income for the many communities and businesses that make their living off of park visitors. Utah’s elected leaders, particularly our members of Congress, should keep careful watch on how these changes shake out.
Under new rules announced recently, annual passes to U.S. national parks will rise sharply for international visitors come the first of the year. What will cost a U.S. resident $80 will set a German, Canadian, Japanese or Brazilian tourist back $250.
And at the system’s 11 most-visited parks — including Utah’s Zion and Bryce Canyon — international visitors will be expected to cough up a $100 surcharge on top of the normal daily admission fee, most of which run between $10 and $20 a head, or $35 per carload.
The basic idea of American taxpayers getting a break on park fees, seeing as how they already pay U.S. income taxes to support the parks, is not altogether out of line. It is in the same vein as public universities charging higher out-of-state tuition fees.
It is also true that the entire park system is underfunded and is sitting on more than $23 billion in deferred maintenance needs.
But the size of the announced foreign visitor penalty is out of line. Charging Italian or Korean visitors three times the cost of an American resident’s annual pass, or a five-fold surcharge for a daily visit, will be seen by many as an invitation to take in the natural wonders of Canada or South Africa.
Even the you-are-very-lucky-to-be-here French only charge non-European Union visitors to the world-renowned Louvre museum an extra 10 euros — about $11.67 — on top of the homies’ 22 euro admission.
The higher fees also come just as international tourism to the United States is down. That means lower income for not only national park communities, but also tourist-dependent economies as diverse as the Navajo Nation, Las Vegas and Disneyland.
In the context of Trump administration America Firstism, the fees are likely to come across as just another act of brutish isolationism. The harshly unwelcoming words and actions from the White House, threatening to annex Canada and invade Greenland, all the news about thuggish immigration raids, checking incoming visitors’ social media accounts and condemning entire nationalities as “garbage” does not exactly put out the welcome mat for international tourists and their money.
Do we really want our already overworked park rangers turned into immigration cops, checking nationalities at already backed-up entry gates? Are we undermining America’s soft power by discouraging visitors from around the world from enjoying our natural wonders and human hospitality?
The worst idea of all, of course, is emblazoning Donald Trump’s image on national park tickets. And making Trump’s birthday (even if it does also happen to be Flag Day) a “patriotic fee-free day” for U.S. residents. These days international visitors who do venture onto American soil — except maybe for Vladimir Putin — are coming here in spite of Trump, not because of him.
It speaks poorly of the administration that it is rolling out these higher fees with no apparent public process, no consultation with either Congress or the communities and businesses affected.
Members of Congress, especially Utah’s delegation, should keep a careful watch on this situation. They must sharply audit the results, to see if higher fees really raise significant income for needed park maintenance or amount to a decline in revenue, for the parks and others, due to visits that didn’t happen.
America’s national parks need an infusion of income. But they are also too beautiful not to share with the rest of the world. At a reasonable price.
Editorials represent the opinions of The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board, which operates independently from the newsroom.
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