No. of Recommendations: 11
One of the increasing banes of my existence as an international traveler is the ever increasing cost of visas and "ETAs" (electronic travel authorizations charged by countries which don't require a US citizen to obtain a visa, but charge a fee to enter anyway). Most of these are reciprocal with fees charged by the US. (A recent example is the $200 that Senegal charged me for a visa, which I imagine mirrors what we charge their citizens, presumably to discourage any but the richest to visit the US).
Anyway:
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/06/travel/travel-n...Many Canadians and other international visitors to the US are staying away. The World Travel and Tourism Council projected in May that the United States will lose $12.5 billion in international visitor spending in 2025. It was the only country out of 184 economies analyzed by the council, a global tourism advocacy organization, that will see a decline this year.
Visitors to the US from some of the nation’s closest allies will soon be required to pay higher fees outlined in the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Specifically, a hike to the fees associated with the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, which processes travel applications from residents of more than 40 countries that are part of the Visa Waiver Program.
Those countries include the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and most of Europe, as well as a handful of countries in other regions, including Qatar in the Middle East.
Prior to the passage of President Trump’s signature legislation, applicants to the ESTA system, as it’s known, paid $21. Now that mandatory fee will nearly double on September 30 to $40.
It’s one of several fee increases associated with travel to the US from abroad. Travelers arriving through a land border will also see their fees go up with an increase in the I-94 Arrival/Departure Record cost. Right now, travelers required to pay the fee only have to part with $6.
That amount jumps to $30 at the end of the month.
Lastly, travelers from China will be asked to pay a $30 enrollment fee for the Electronic Visa Update System. The September 30 effective date for the fee increases was outlined in a recent notice in the Federal Register.
The increase in fees, combined with the looming $250 “visa integrity fee” for many travelers from non-visa waiver countries, comes at a time when travel to the US from abroad is in a major slump.
The average overseas tourist in the U.S. spends approximately $4,000 per trip, staying on average 18 nights, and this spending is significantly higher than domestic travelers' spending. These international visitors are crucial for the U.S. economy, contributing a large portion of total international travel spending and supporting many jobs and businesses.
The actions of those who crafted the new regulations seem to be designed to prevent foreign "riff-raff" from sullying our shores and to "make money" in the process. Like many of our new raft of regulations, this seems to be a very poor fiscal trade-off designed to prevent people coming to the US who are likely to overstay their permission.
I also believe that, as other countries reciprocate with additional fees levied on Americans, my travel will also become more expensive.
Jeff
