Passport lobby gets US airlines’ support
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – On the eve of tomorrow’s 29th annual Caribbean Tourism Conference (CTC) in The Bahamas, two major United States airlines have sent a strong signal of support for the region’s efforts to persuade Washington to revise its new passport requirement that tourism interests say could spell economic doom for Caribbean states.
Representatives of the region’s tourism industry told the Observer yesterday that American and Alaska airlines have now signalled their intention to co-operate with the Caribbean’s effort to secure a unified implementation of the passport requirement for Americans arriving home from the region by both air and sea.
This, sources told the Observer, was a major development that could pave the way for a reversal of the discriminatory provision in the amended Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), and could also bring the US Air Transport Association (ATA) itself on board.
Under the WHTI, passed earlier this month by the US Congress, all Americans returning to the US by air are required to have passports effective January 8 next year.
But the Congress granted a two-year delay – to June 1, 2009 – for sea and land border crossings, highly favouring the cruise companies, Mexico and Canada.
The WHTI was passed at the behest of the US Homeland Security Department which said it needed the measure to help fight terrorism.
After the Congress vote, Caribbean tourism players, including Sandals Resorts chairman Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, and SuperClubs boss John Issa predicted that the requirement would savage Caribbean economies by driving down hotel occupancies and earnings, because large numbers of Americans do not have passports and might not be in any rush to get one.
“That decision is probably the single most destructive economic catastrophe that could happen, short of a nuclear attack on Caribbean countries,” Stewart had said, adding that the job losses would be horrendous.
The Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) described the measure as akin to “a category 6 hurricane” for the region, while the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA) warned affected countries to brace for “a genuine economic and social upheaval, caused by the inevitable shift in travel by US citizens”.
Last week, the influential London-based World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) lashed the US Government for granting the extension, saying that the vote has “effectively laid off 188,300 Caribbean workers”.
Regional tourism officials say that some 22 million visitors arrive in the Caribbean by air annually and are by far the biggest spenders, accounting for an estimated expenditure of US$23 billion, compared with approximately 20 million cruise line visitors and expenditure averaging below US$3 million.
Initially, both American and Alaska airlines – influential members of the ATA – were strongly opposed to mobilising support for a unified passport implementation arrangement.
However, with their decision to co-operate, the Caribbean has decided to intensify its lobby to secure support from other American-based airlines doing business with the region. These include US Airways, Delta, Continental and JetBlue.
If they come on their board, they will join the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) which has already assured angry Caribbean tourism interests that cruise liners are still on their side.
Observer sources had said last week that the cruise companies were fearful that bad blood between them and the Caribbean islands could lead to the regional territories demanding that all Americans must have passports to visit their ports.