News Release

NPS finalizes rule to modernize commercial services contracts 

Date: January 16, 2025
Contact: [e-mail]

Update (February 2025): As a courtesy, we want to notify you that this final rule will now go into effect on March 21, 2025, instead of February 18, 2025. 

WASHINGTON – The National Park Service (NPS) has finalized and will implement a regulation to govern the issuance of hospitality services contracts under the new Visitor Experience Improvements Authority (VEIA) given to the NPS by Congress. The rule will go into effect in 30 days. 
 
In January 2022, NPS published a proposed rule for public comment and accepted comments for 60 days. NPS received 14 comments on the proposed rule, and NPS responded to these and other comments in the final rule. After considering the comments received, the NPS made several, clarifying changes to the rule. 
 
The National Park Service Centennial Act, enacted on December 16, 2016, establishes a new concessions contracting authority within NPS for providing visitor services for terms up to 10 years. There are concession contracts at over 150 national parks across the country to provide services such as lodging, campground, food, retail, marinas, transportation and recreation. NPS concession contracts generate approximately $1.8 billion per year in gross revenues. 
 
Under this final rule, the NPS will award and administer commercial services contracts and related professional services contracts for the operation and expansion of commercial visitor facilities and visitor services programs in national parks. 

• The VEIA is intended to provide additional tools to expand, modernize and improve the condition of commercial facilities and visitor services using contracting models common in the hospitality industry that differ from the concession contracts used under the National Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998.

• The VEIA provides more flexibility in the solicitation process that may allow businesses to more effectively respond and be evaluated on how they will meet visitor needs for the services being offered. The flexibility of the VEIA also provides the potential to streamline the solicitation process to reduce the burden on businesses submitting proposals. 

• The VEIA establishes a revolving fund from contract revenue to reinvest in the management, operation, construction and maintenance of commercial visitor services and facilities.

• The VEIA is a complementary tool to the NPS’s existing authority under the 1998 Concessions Management Improvement Act for providing commercial visitors services, which will continue to be used by the NPS to provide most commercial visitor services.

www.nps.gov 

 
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