A small Arizona tour operator is suing the Trump administration in federal court over the $100-per-person fee charged to foreign visitors at 11 major U.S. national parks — a policy it says has already cost it 80 to 90 lost international bookings.

Across Arizona Tours filed the complaint on September 28 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona against the Departments of Interior and Agriculture, the National Park Service and senior administration officials. The company asks a judge to declare the nonresident entrance fee and the $250 nonresident annual pass unlawful and to block their enforcement.

The move escalates a dispute that major trade groups had so far fought only through lobbying. The International Inbound Travel Association warned in December 2025, before the surcharge took effect, that the system created immediate operational problems for inbound operators. IITA later joined the U.S. Travel Association, the National Tour Association, the U.S. Tour Operators Association, the American Bus Association, the Student & Youth Travel Association, the United Motorcoach Association and the Adventure Travel Trade Association in urging Congress not to codify the surcharge before fixing its operational and economic problems.

The coalition reported stalled bookings, cancellations and itinerary changes, with some operators removing national parks from itineraries entirely. Some businesses estimated financial exposure above $250,000. The National Parks Conservation Association separately called on Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to halt implementation.

The lost bookings

The policy stems from Trump's July 3, 2025 executive order, "Making America Beautiful Again by Improving Our National Parks," which directed Interior to raise fees for nonresidents. Since January 1, 2026, foreign visitors aged 16 and older pay an additional $100 per person at Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Everglades, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion, or $250 for a nonresident annual pass versus the $80 charged to Americans.

The price gap at the Grand Canyon is stark. A U.S. family arriving by car pays $35; an identical international family of four with two adults can face $235. For the seller, the risk is asymmetric: the federal government collects the fee, while the tour operator risks losing the customer.

Co-owner Carole Stapleton says she personally spoke with the 80 to 90 prospective nonresident customers who declined to book. Most cited the higher park fees as a factor in their decision. Some switched to other U.S. destinations; others took their vacation spending to other countries.

Operators as gatekeepers

The complaint also challenges the administrative burden the policy shifts onto commercial operators. Under the National Park Service system, tour companies must know how many passengers are nonresidents or pass holders before entering the park, and drivers must pay all entrance fees due for their passengers. The lawsuit says the agency warned that stricter compliance could include ID checks, lengthening transaction times and delaying tours.

Across Arizona Tours says some customers find residency questions intrusive, and it has stopped serving foreign students at Arizona State University because of the new requirements. The company operates one- and two-day guided tours, including Grand Canyon van tours under a federal Commercial Use Authorization.

The wider exposure

The complaint cites National Park Service figures showing visitor spending in gateway communities generated a $56.3 billion benefit to the U.S. economy in 2024. Each lost Grand Canyon booking cascades through hotels, restaurants, rental cars, guides and retailers across Arizona and the Southwest. And inbound tourism functions economically like an export: when a foreign traveler picks the Canadian Rockies or the Alps instead, the spending goes with them.

The fee also stacks onto other friction — visa costs, border experiences, airfares — that international travelers weigh against competing destinations. Many state and regional tourism boards have stayed quiet, the source notes, to avoid confronting the administration.

The administration says the added revenue will support park infrastructure and visitor experience. Whether a federal judge agrees that the fee structure is lawful will now determine whether operators, DMOs and gateway businesses face this cost layer through the foreseeable inbound season.