NPS Offers Advance Online Fee Payment for Group Tours

The National Park Service announced new Recreation.gov features that allow operators to pre-purchase entrance fees and passes for their clients. 

Beginning January 1, 2026, 11 of the most-visited national parks began charging a $100 fee to non-U.S. residents age 16 and older. This fee is collected in addition to the standard park entrance fee. International travelers planning to visit multiple parks can purchase the America the Beautiful Non-Resident Annual Pass, for $250. The pass covers park entrance fees and applicable non-resident fees for the pass holder and eligible accompanying travelers for one year from the date of purchase.

As previously reported, IITA and industry partners have advocated for a specific pass or payment system that allows commercial group tour operators to pay applicable non-resident fees for their passengers in advance. While a specific program/pass has not been developed for group tours, NPS has worked with Recreation.gov to expand advance purchase options for commercial tour operators, including: 

• Pre-purchase of commercial entrance fees at the 11 most visited parks and non-resident fees.
• Advance purchase of Non-Resident Annual Passes on behalf of operators' tours participants.
• Expanded digital pass options to reduce entrance station transaction times. 
   

Each digital America the Beautiful Non-Resident Annual Pass is issued to one person (the pass holder). The pass holder must be present and show identification for the pass to be valid. Passes held by an employee of the tour company are not valid for commercial use; the pass holder must be a tour participant. Passes are not transferable and thus cannot be assigned to a different person for a later trip.
 
All purchases are final. NPS says that there will be no refunds for commercial entrance fees, non-resident fees and digital Non-Resident Annual Passes purchased on Recreation.gov. If the tour group needs to pay additional per-person entrance fees or non-resident fees after a Commercial Site Pass has been purchased on Recreation.gov, then the tour operator will need to pay any additional applicable fees upon arrival at the park.

An NPS Help Center article - Commercial Pass Sales on Recreation.gov - has been posted to the external Recreation.gov Help Center to provide the commercial tour industry with step-by-step instructions on how to complete their purchases. 

IITA continues to press for a specific solution for group tours that would not require connecting the pass to the end user. Last-minute changes to passengers and the cumbersome process of securing ATB passes individually with passenger information are deterrents to inbound operators effectively using the online system.

Please provide feedback on the new payment system for commercial vehicle fees and non-resident fees/passes, so IITA may continue to share your experiences with the National Park Service and Department of the Interior officials. 
 
It is the commercial operator’s responsibility to plan ahead and know which Commercial Site Pass is needed, how many clients are covered by the Non-Resident Annual Pass, and how many $100 non-resident fees need to be paid for any clients not covered by a pass. There are NO REFUNDS for commercial site passes.