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The US Is Leaving UNESCO: Here’s What Comes Next

Iconic travel destinations like the Statue of Liberty and Grand Canyon are among the 26 UNESCO World Heritage sites in the US.

BY ELISSA GARAY
August 5, 2025

Iconic sites like the Statue of Liberty and Grand Canyon are among the 26 UNESCO World Heritage sites in the United States that stand to be affected by the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the United Nations-backed organization at the end of next year.

The administration announced the US’ withdrawal from UNESCO in late July, claiming the organization “works to advance divisive social and cultural causes” that are at odds with the administration’s “America First” foreign policy.

UNESCO, which stands for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is tasked with preserving more than 1,200 World Heritage sites around the globe, which are considered by the agency to have “outstanding universal value.” They include some of the world’s most popular travel destinations like the pyramids of Giza, Machu Picchu, and the Great Barrier Reef.

For the 19 US National Park Service-managed parks and monuments that have also been granted UNESCO World Heritage status, the news of UNESCO’s withdrawal comes on the heels of sweeping staff layoffs and federal funding cuts that impact America’s popular public lands. “This is just one more backwards step,” says Brenda Barrett, a representative for the nonprofit Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks.

Here’s what travelers should know about how the Trump administration’s latest move could impact tourism at UNESCO World Heritage sites.
 

What does UNESCO do?

The cultural and educational arm of the United Nations, Paris-based UNESCO was founded after World War II and has a stated mission of “strengthening our shared humanity through the promotion of education, science, culture, and communication.” UNESCO currently counts 194 nations among its members, and works on goals like conserving biodiversity, advancing education, addressing artificial intelligence challenges, and ensuring that its vast global network of World Heritage sites are properly preserved. UNESCO’s 1,248 World Heritage sites, deemed by the agency to have strong cultural or natural significance, span 170 countries; 26 of the sites were newly inscribed last month.

Why is the US leaving UNESCO?

The Trump administration cited political and ideological differences as the reasoning behind its withdrawal. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in an emailed statement that UNESCO “supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes.”

US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in an official statement that participation in UNESCO is “not in the national interest of the United States” and said the agency places “outsized focus” on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Bruce additionally accused the organization of having an anti-Israel bias, citing a 2011 decision by UNESCO to admit Palestine as a member state.

In response, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said in a statementthat the US’ decision “contradicts the fundamental principles of multilateralism.” She added that US claims of anti-Israel bias “contradict the reality of UNESCO’s efforts,” highlighting the organization’s work in Holocaust education and combating antisemitism.

This marks the third time that the US, a founding member of UNESCO, has cut ties with the agency, which it previously pulled out of in 1984 and 2018 before later rejoining the organization.

What UNESCO World Heritage Sites are in the US?

There are 26 UNESCO World Heritage sites in the US, including designated “cultural” assets like Philadelphia’s Independence Hall and New Mexico’s Taos Pueblo, and “natural” ones like Yellowstone National Park and the Everglades National Park. UNESCO recognition has been known to provide a boon in publicity and international traveler interest for listed sites.

“It’s a stamp of world approval, particularly for foreign visitors,” says Barrett, from the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, who added that many travelers treat the catalogue of World Heritage sites as the ultimate travel bucket list.

Below, see the full list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in the US by location:

How will this affect travel to the US?

The US withdrawal is set to take place on December 31, 2026, and the US will remain a full member of UNESCO until then. An active membership in UNESCO is not a requirement for having a site listed, and the 26 existing World Heritage sites in the US will not lose their UNESCO designation, according to a UNESCO spokesperson.

However, the US withdrawal will mean a loss of American influence around what future UNESCO projects are supported and funded. At the moment, 17 sites in the US are on the “tentative list” for consideration for inscription on the World Heritage List. Concerns about their prospects post-withdrawal have been raised at places like Serpent Mound in Ohio, where local media reported that the site could now “see years of delay in World Heritage nomination.”

Leigh Barnes, President of the Americas for Intrepid Travel, a small-group adventure tour company that frequently incorporates UNESCO sites into its itineraries, raised concerns about the potential impacts. “Stepping away from UNESCO risks reducing critical international support, funding, and technical expertise for their preservation—in areas like ecosystem protection, education leadership, and cultural heritage stewardship,” he says.

Barnes was particularly concerned about how the move could further impact the National Park Service, which manages most of the US World Heritage sites, and is already facing what he calls “severe domestic threats” from staffing cutbacks and funding cuts. Nearly 25% of permanent National Park Service staff has already been lost in 2025.

“The National Park Service was known for its incredible expertise, its historians, its archeologists, its climate change specialists, its wildlife biologists,” says Barrett. “And all of them contributed to conserving the values that the parks had, but particularly the World Heritage park values.”

Will international UNESCO sites be impacted?

Azoulay said the US withdrawal was expected by UNESCO, and that steps had been taken to diversify the agency’s funding sources since the US first pulled out in 2018. US contributions now represent 8% of UNESCO’s total budget.

Azoulay added that UNESCO intends to continue carrying out its mission “despite inevitably reduced resources,” and that organization is not considering layoffs at this time.

A UNESCO spokesperson tells Condé Nast Traveler that the agency does not anticipate changes for the visitor experience at World Heritage sites as a direct result of the US withdrawal, and that US travelers will always be welcome to UNESCO sites. “The relationship between UNESCO and the American people is not stopping,” the spokesperson says.