In this file photo dated October 1, 2013 shows a poster of the Statue of Liberty is closed due to an US government shutdown in New York. US national parks and monuments including the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon are to reopen despite the federal shutdown, after states agreed to fund them temporarily, officials said October 11, 2013. The National Park Service announced deals with the states of New York, Arizona, Colorado and Utah to reopen tourist sites closed since the US government partial shutdown came into force on October 1. The New York agreement will allow funding for the Statue of Liberty for six days, beginning Saturday through October 17, with the state donating $369,300 to keep it running. Photo AFP / Lehtikuva
The United States began re-opening the most important tourist attractions in the coming days for tourists as state governors reached deals despite an ongoing government shutdown, news agency STT reported quoting Reuters and AFP.
State governors’ agreement with the federal government has paved the way for re-opening of Grand Canyon in Arizona, Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and Statue of Liberty in New York.
The state of Utah also reached an agreement with the federal government and began opening the National Park Friday.
The state would pay up to $1.7 million to the federal government to allow visitors to return to its national parks until Sunday.
According to AFP, more than 400 federally-managed tourist sites ranging from California's Yosemite National Park to the Statue of Liberty have been closed since the shutdown started on October 1 due to a budget impasse.
These 400 national parks usually everyday sees about 750 000 visitors.
