The Department of the Interior on Tuesday announced a slew of changes to national park passes, including the specifics of a previously announced “America-first” pricing structure that would increase entrance fees for foreign visitors.

Effective Jan. 1, foreigners will pay $250 for an annual pass, compared with $80 for U.S. residents. Foreigners would also pay a $100 surcharge on top of the $35 entrance fee for the 11 most-visited parks, including Yellowstone and Grand Teton.

The increased revenue generated through the fees will help fund modernization and maintenance projects across the national park system, which has about $23 billion in deferred maintenance needs. Because U.S. residents support national parks through their taxes, the price hike is justified, according to the Interior Department.

The increased fees are not expected to substantially decrease visitation, though the estimated change to foreign visitation is “challenging to estimate,” according to a congressional memo from September.

Teton County tourism professionals were split on the change.

“It just seems to me like we’re sending an inhospitable message,” said Mike Gierau, a state senator representing Teton County and co-chairman of JH AIR, a nonprofit that coordinates air service to Jackson Hole.

Foreign tourism is already down nationwide due to “general nervousness about the things that are happening in America right now,” Gierau said.

“It’s more of the same,” he said.

Taylor Phillips, owner of Jackson Hole EcoTour Adventures, supports the surcharge because it will help fund park services and maintenance. Foreign visitors are still getting a good deal, he said.

“I don’t think it’s a hindrance,” Phillips said. “Whether it’s $35 or $135, it’s still one of the best things in America.”

About 10% to 15% of Phillips’ customers are international travelers. He has experienced the decrease in foreign visitors this year but is not concerned about the surcharge impacting his business.

Other changes in the new entrance system include the option for digital annual passes that can be accessed online, more “resident-only patriotic” fee-free days, modernized pass graphics with “bold, patriotic designs” and a new rule allowing two motorcycles to enter on one pass.

In 2025, there were six fee-free days for all park visitors. In 2026, there will be eight, but they will apply only to U.S. residents. The Interior Department nixed Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth and National Public Lands Day from the list of fee-free days and added Flag Day/President Trump’s birthday, Constitution Day and Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday.

With the advent of digital passes, Phillips worries that Wyoming parks could lose out on revenue, as parks retain 80% of the entrance fees they collect at the gates. The remaining 20% goes to the National Park Service at large.

Grand Teton brings in about $4.5 million per year through entrance fees.

“With more and more business deals done online, I think it’s important to modernize the system,” Phillips said. “But if that decreases the revenue that each park unit has, that 100% needs to be talked about and looked at.”