Advocacy Submits Comments on Proposed Changes to Road-based Commercial Tour Requirements and Fees
March 12, 2018
On October 24, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service (NPS) announced an open comment period on a proposal to change commercial use authorization (CUA) requirements and fees. The proposed fee structure would increase fees at seventeen of the top revenue-producing National Parks, and is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2019. The NPS, though not required to do so, collected public comments through its website. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) applauds the NPS’ efforts to engage the public on the issue of setting fees for road-based commercial tours, and respectfully submits the following comments on the proposed changes. Advocacy encourages NPS to consider the impacts to small entities when making decisions regarding setting fees for CUA’s, and to consider alternatives that may be less burdensome to small businesses.