One of the first tourism-related victims of a possible U.S. government shutdown are U.S. national parks and the tourism companies that rely on them.
Unless Congress acts on a short-term, continued funding resolution, another partial government shutdown could occur at midnight on December 20.
If the government shuts down, non-essential government functions will shut down. These include 63 national parks, from Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska to Everglades National Park in Florida.
The good news is, it’s off-season for national park travel. The bad news is that planning activity is in full swing.
“While this is not a busy time for tour groups to explore the parks and other National Park Service locations, operators are making plans for next year and beyond,” said Catherine Prater, president of the National Travel Association. “During the shutdown, operators are making plans for next year and beyond. , [park service] Staff will not be able to answer operator questions or make reservations. “
Prater said 75 percent of NTA travel agency members offer packages to U.S. national parks.
“The longer the shutdown continues, the greater the potential for group travel to be disrupted,” Platt said. “In addition, while essential services such as the Transportation Security Administration and air traffic control will remain open, these employees will be unpaid. It’s unfair and far from ideal during one of our busiest travel seasons.”
Steve Born, chief marketing officer for the Globus family of brands, said that in the past when shutdowns were imminent, the government was able to meet deadlines or resolve issues in a relatively short period of time, limiting disruption to the parks.
“If Yellowstone Winter Wonderland is closed and continues into January, we have to address the issue of Yellowstone Winter Wonderland departures in February,” Bohn said.
Government shutdowns and federal furloughs have been a feature of budget negotiations in Washington since at least the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan was president. However, the longest shutdown is more recent: a 35-day period from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019, during Donald Trump's first presidential term.
In addition to officially named national parks, the national park system includes battlefields, monuments, historic sites, oceanfronts, and recreation areas, access to which may also be restricted. In the Caribbean, Virgin Islands National Park in St. John's, U.S. Virgin Islands, and El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico may be closed, affecting tourism.
Jeff Roy, Collette's chief revenue officer, said his company has more than 50 domestic U.S. tours, many of which feature national parks. “It's not as important in the winter,” he said. “Basically, this time of year is not the peak; the peak is May through September.
“But we’re keeping a close eye on these park issues,” he said. “You just hope it doesn't happen.”
