“Big Beautiful Bill” Delivers Travel Infrastructure Investments Alongside Marketing Cuts and Higher Visa Fees

On July 1, 2025, Congress passed and President Trump signed the budget reconciliation package, commonly called the “Big Beautiful Bill.”

Major changes for the travel sector include

• A $12.5 billion investment to upgrade the National Airspace System, including tech, physical infrastructure, and workforce training.
• $4.1 billion to hire and train over 5,000 Customs & Border Protection officers, plus $2 billion for retention bonuses to reduce airport wait times.
• $673 million to expand biometric entry-exit systems, facilitating future Visa Waiver expansion.

Alongside, the bill also introduces new visitor fees and cuts to tourism marketing funding.

• A new $250 fee for non-immigrant visitor visas.
• The ESTA processing fee doubled from $21 to $40 for Visa Waiver visitors.
• Federal funding for the national tourism marketing agency dropped from $100 million to $20 million.

The US Travel CEO, Geoff Freeman, condemned the visitor fees as “self-imposed tariffs” and said they “do nothing but discourage visitation at a time when foreign travelers are already concerned about the welcome experience and high prices.”