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Caribbean Applauds Relaxation Of Passport Rules, Urges Full Waiver Until June 2009
by CTO press release
Posted: Jun 15, 2007 18:50 UTC
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A Statement by the Caribbean Tourism Organization on the Relaxation of the Passport Rule
NEW YORK, NY, U.S.A. - The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), representing 32 nations across the Caribbean region, applauds the decision by the United States government to temporarily relax the requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), which went into effect after January 23rd 2007 and which called for all U.S citizens to have a passport in order to return to the country following travel overseas by air after January 23rd 2007.
At the same time, Caribbean governments are urging a full waiver of these requirements until July 2009 when the rules are scheduled to come into effect for cruise passengers traveling into the Caribbean region.
The CTO also notes that the US Senate Appropriations Committee has recognized the overwhelming impact the passport delay is having on the economies of the affected countries and voted last night to delay by 18 months to June 1, 2009, passport requirements for U.S. travelers entering the country by land or sea from Canada and Mexico because of the huge backlog in issuing new U.S. passports.
“The evidence is now overwhelming that tourism and commerce in the Caribbean region have suffered considerably as a result of the WHTI passport rules, as was predicted by the United States’ own study by the Customs and Border Protection in August 2006, as well as a study by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)” Allen Chastanet, the CTO chairman and St. Lucia’s tourism minister said. ‘And by excluding the Caribbean from further delay in its implementation the consequences will be severe.”
In addition, there remain a number of issues that need to be resolved, including clarification on documents that will be acceptable to airlines, the countries being visited and for reentry into the US by air passengers and the confusion that will ensue from different sets of rules.
CTO therefore urges total delay of the full implementation of the rules to June 1, 2009, to include air travel.
Meantime, the Board of Directors of the Caribbean Tourism Organization has recommended to Caribbean governments that ALL Caribbean countries accept for the purposes of entry, the same documents that the airlines accept for adults children under the age of 16.
The CTO’s call is fully endorsed by the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA).
The Caribbean Tourism Organization
The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), with headquarters in Barbados and marketing operations in New York, London and Toronto, is the Caribbean’s tourism development agency and comprises membership of 32-member governments and a myriad of private sector entities.
The CTO’s mission is to provide to and through its members, the services and information needed for the development of sustainable tourism for the economic and social benefit of the Caribbean people. The organization provides specialized support and technical assistance to member countries in the areas of marketing, human resource development, research and statistics, information technology and sustainable tourism development. The CTO disseminates information on behalf of its member governments to consumers and the travel trade.
CTO’s New York office is located at 80 Broad Street, 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10004, USA; Tel: (212) 635-9530; Fax: (212) 635-9511; E-mail: ctony@caribtourism.com. CTO’s London office is located at 22 The Quadrant, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1BP, England. Tel: 011 44 208 948 0057; Fax: 011 44 208 948 0067; E-mail: ctolondon@caribtourism.com; CTO Canada is located at 130 Bloor Street West, Suite 301, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1N5, Canada. Tel: (416) 935 0767; Fax: (416) 935 0939. E-mail ctotoronto@caribtourism.com. CTO Headquarters is located at One Financial Place, Collymore Rock, St. Michael, Barbados; Tel: (246) 427-5242; Fax: (246) 429-3065; E-mail: ctobarbados@caribtourism.com. For more information, please visit www.doitcaribbean.com or www.onecaribbean.org.
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