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

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.