The Statue of Liberty is banning commercial guided tours at the Statue in an effort to cope with high visitor volume and small spaces at an increasingly popular destination.
National Park Service officials cite a 600% increase in tourism over the last decade, and frequent blockages caused by large groups clustered around a guide, as reasons for the new rules, which also apply to the new Statue of Liberty Museum that will open soon and to the Museum of Immigration on nearby Ellis Island.
The new rules take effect next week, despite complaints by some guides that they were not “given time to come up with a backup plan or work on an agreement that suited all parties,” as one of them told the New York Times.
NPS, however, says “The new restrictions are no different to policies in place at highly visited cultural institutions in and around New York City such as the 9/11 Memorial and Museum and busy National Park Service sites across the nation including Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia and Golden Gate Recreation Area (including Alcatraz) in San Francisco.”
Image: PHeymont/TravelGumbo
