…CTO sees US decision as akin to ‘a category 6 hurricane’
Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, secretary-general for the 32-member Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), compared Monday’s decision by the US government to amend the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative to “a category 6 hurricane” for the Caribbean region.
“Needless to say, the affected Caribbean nations are extremely disappointed with this outcome because the potential economic impact on their business could be catastrophic,” said Vanderpool-Wallace. “We understand that some of those affected destinations will be making their own statements and taking some specific action on this matter.
“It is incomprehensible that the United States Government would approve an amendment that excludes air arrivals from the Caribbean and thereby grant an additional advantage to cruise lines in the Caribbean who already enjoy a significant competitive advantage especially in light of the fact that the cruise lines supported the inclusion of air arrivals also.
“We know that all of the affected governments made their own representation through several diplomatic channels as recently as last Wednesday prior to the final vote of this Bill. Because of the potential far-ranging effect of this action, there is nothing potentially more devastating. This is a category 6 hurricane.”