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Passport plan puts $2.6bn black cloud over Caribbean
By Amy Yee
June 5 2005

The Caribbean, the most tourism-intensive region in the world, stands to lose as much as $2.6bn in holiday spending because of a new rule requiring US citizens to carry passports when travelling there.

The requirement is part of more stringent US border control and security policies.

Tourism accounts for 14.8 per cent of the Caribbean's total gross domestic product and generates 15.5 per cent of total jobs, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.

The rule, which is proposed to go into effect from January 1 next year, requires US citizens to have a passport to re-enter the US from the non-US territories of the Caribbean. Only 15 per cent of Americans currently hold passports. Spending on Caribbean goods and services by US visitors reached $2.6bn (€2.1bn, £1.4bn) out of total visitor spending of $20.7bn last year, according to a study by the WTTC on behalf of the Caribbean Hotel Association.

The findings, released during a summit of Caribbean tourism officials in New York, also concluded that the new passport rule and potential decrease in visitors could cost the region more than 188,000 tourism jobs.

The new passport restrictions will “cause significant hardship for several destinations” said Jean-Claude Baumgarten, president of the WTTC.

Currently, US citizens need only show proof of citizenship, such as an expired passport or driver's licence, to travel to most Caribbean destinations.

Regional tourism officials are vigorously lobbying the US to grant the same January 1 2008 deadline that visitors to Canada and Mexico face, in order to allow more time to prepare travellers for the new rule.

The cruise industry, which also stands to take a big hit from the passport requirement, has also been vocal about extending the deadline. More than 3,578 cruise ships visited the Caribbean last year with a total passenger potential of 6.3m visitors, according to the International Council of Cruise Lines. Of 10m total cruise passengers last year, 8m were North Americans. The Caribbean is the most heavily visited cruise destination, accounting for about 45 per cent of cruise itineraries.

The rule adversely discriminates against the Caribbean, the ICCL said. Until 2008, a US citizen “will likely choose Mexico or Canada over anywhere else because of the extra cost [$100] and time of obtaining a passport. If they are a last-minute traveller [without a passport], there will be no other option but Mexico or Canada”.

The Caribbean Hotel Association also expects that the passport rule will result in “a permanent realignment of traffic, with spontaneous, last-minute travel significantly reduced”. The US Department of Homeland Security emphasised that the 2008 deadline was a proposal and subject to change following public comment.

“Our goal is to make travel safer and secure, but also to facilitate legitimate travel through the western hemisphere. We don't want to negatively impact the tourism community,” the department said.

The Financial Times

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We Australians have no choice but have a passport when we travel, so what is the big deal about a $100 investment in a passport (and security).

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Originally posted by bulbousbow:
We Australians have no choice but have a passport when we travel, so what is the big deal about a $100 investment in a passport (and security).

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Globaliser wrote:
...I have seen people complaining that their very constitutional rights are being taken away from them. Seriously.

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Crickey!

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Bottom line: the cost of a passport is part of the cost of international travel--if you can't afford that, then maybe you should rethink your ability to afford international travel at all.

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Originally posted by Globaliser:
On the face of it, that's exactly what one might think. But reading elsewhere, I have seen people complaining that their very constitutional rights are being taken away from them. Seriously.

Some people don't deserve to travel.

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The morons who are arguing that their constitutional rights are being violated have probably never read the US Constitution, one of the most misquoted, and consequently misunderstood, documents ever written.

Brian

[ 06-07-2005: Message edited by: Brian_O ]

In the UK it's not fun at all, at least for your first passport - I think renewing them is easier. First there's all the documentation you have to get together. The you have to get the passport application form signed by a 'responsible citizen'. Examples they give include: a minister of religion; a doctor; an established Civil Servant (that has a specific meaning in the UK); or a head teacher. So if you don't know one of those, you have a problem.

Then having completed the form you have to send it off to the Passports Agency, which is a black hole. (Only exceeded by the Black Hole of Swansea, aka the DVLA...). Your application will take an indeterminate length of time to be processed so you can't rely on it being back by a certian date. If you're prepared to take a chance, you can take your documentaton to the Passport Office in London where, if you get to the head of the queue before they shut, they'll process your application while you wait. But you might be unlucky and have to go back another day, etc, etc.

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Originally posted by Tom Burke:
Then having completed the form you have to send it off to the Passports Agency, which is a black hole. (Only exceeded by the Black Hole of Swansea, aka the DVLA...). Your application will take an indeterminate length of time to be processed so you can't rely on it being back by a certian date. If you're prepared to take a chance, you can take your documentaton to the Passport Office in London where, if you get to the head of the queue before they shut, they'll process your application while you wait. But you might be unlucky and have to go back another day, etc, etc.

People in the UK swap 'passport application' horror stories when they're in the pub, it's that bad.

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The Passport Office used to be a veritable horror story, especially at busy times. However, the new technology system is now bedded in. The whole operation runs very smoothly.

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The Passport Office used to be a veritable horror story, especially at busy times. However, the new technology system is now bedded in. The whole operation runs very smoothly.

Example: I put in a renewal application just over 18 months ago when I thought I had enough down time between trips to get a new passport. A couple of days later, my plans changed again. I phoned the helpline and had my call answered by the call centre within a minute or so. It was a matter of seconds for them to locate my application and to tell me exactly where it was. As I was now asking for the application to be expedited, I was told that an examiner would phone me back within a couple of hours. In fact, it was only an hour. He approved the application while I was on the phone, and at 9 am the next morning my new passport was on my desk.

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Well I'm surprised and impressed. Although I could point out that that was for a renewal - I wonder what it's like for a comletely new one?

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Originally posted by Tom Burke:
People in the UK swap 'passport application' horror stories when they're in the pub, it's that bad.

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Yes, the stories all start the same; "I had one week to go before my holiday and I remembered that I had not renewed my passport".

The UK passport agency takes six weeks, so you need to plan six week ahead - duh! My renewed passports have always arrived within this period. First time applications take the same time, as far as I recall.

There is no reason why you cannot apply in the winter, avoiding the summer rush.

I do agree that the logistics for a nation as big as America, not used to requiring passports, will be very complex. The waves of 9/11 are still being felt.

[ 06-15-2005: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Tom Burke wrote:
...In the UK it's not fun at all, at least for your first passport - I think renewing them is easier. First there's all the documentation you have to get together. The you have to get the passport application form signed by a 'responsible citizen'. Examples they give include: a minister of religion; a doctor; an established Civil Servant (that has a specific meaning in the UK); or a head teacher. So if you don't know one of those, you have a problem...

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For a first passport it’s logical that one needs to supply documents to verify their identity and whether one is a citizen of that country. This should go without saying.

Here in OZ if one has an expired passport issued after November 22, 1984, they can use that as identification for a renewal, and if one has a valid passport, it can just be renewed.

As for a ‘responsible citizen’ we require an identifier (witness) to sign the application form and to endorse the photos that will be scanned into the passport page. However, the identifier does not have to be someone in a special position, as in the UK.

To qualify as an identifier one has to be able to satisfy one of the following:

A. Identifier has an Australian passport issued after January 1, 1987.

or

B. Identifier registered on the Australian Electoral Roll for the last 12 months. (To be eligible one needs to be an Australian citizen).

Of course the identifier needs to prove their identity by filling in their details and signing.

So, as you see it is much easier to apply for a passport in Australia. We also get our passports done at the local post office where the manager signs his/her declaration sighting any relevant documents. We also get our passports posted out inside ten days (usually one week).

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
There is no reason why you cannot apply in the winter, avoiding the summer rush.

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US cruiser passport twist
January 18, 2006

THE US Departments of State and Homeland Security have unveiled a new ID card scheme for US sea and air travellers to the Caribbean next year – an issue that remains of considerable concern to the cruise industry. Originally, US citizens would have been required to own a passport as of this month when returning from cruises in the Caribbean, Bermuda and Central/South America. That deadline was delayed until next January, but the threat to the cruise sector remains because only 1 in 5 Americans owns a passport. Business advocates have lobbied the US to instead adopt an ‘enhanced’ driver’s licence, but the government’s revised plan announced yesterday calls for creation of a new credit-card-sized ID card that will be less expensive than a passport. As a result, many passengers would still face an extra step in booking cruises next year. Commenting on the original January 2006 deadline, Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association president Michele Paige told Fairplay: “It would have been devastating. It would have put a chokehold on a tremendous percentage of tourists going to the Caribbean.”

Fairplay

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