WASHINGTON – A partial U.S. federal government shutdown is disrupting travel plans for tourists across teh country, forcing the closure of numerous national parks, museums, and iconic landmarks. The closures are leaving international visitors, like an Australian couple who traveled over 10,000 miles, deeply disappointed.
Karl Williams of Perth, Australia, and his wife, Jane, had planned a U.S. vacation centered around visiting the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. The 192-metre-high arch, located on the banks of the Mississippi River, was a long-held dream destination for williams. However, upon arrival on Sunday, October 4th, they discovered the attraction was closed due to the government shutdown, as reported by ABC News.
“We didn’t know until we arrived there,” williams said. He noted the couple, along with others, were surprised to find the landmark inaccessible.
The Williams’ experiance is representative of a broader impact. The shutdown, stemming from a lack of federal funding, has resulted in approximately 800,000 federal employees being placed on unpaid leave. This includes staff at airports, customs, national parks, and museums.
While the U.S. remains open to international travelers according to the Department of homeland Security’s contingency plan, essential personnel like air traffic controllers and TSA officers are working without pay. A similar shutdown nearly seven years ago led to hundreds of flight cancellations and delays due to staff shortages.
Currently, national parks remain accessible, but visitor centers are closed. Previous shutdowns have resulted in notable issues within parks, including overflowing toilets, accumulated garbage, and damage to sites like Yosemite, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon when they were left unstaffed.
Several key tourist attractions are currently closed,including the Liberty Bell and the U.S. Botanical Gardens. The Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum complex with locations in Washington D.C. and New York City, will close its doors to the public after October 6th.
Williams and his wife are now uncertain about the accessibility of other planned stops on their month-long itinerary, including the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, the National museum in New York, and attractions in Chicago. “I assume those places will not open. We have to live it, I guess,” he said.
