KINGSTON, Jamaica – As of midnight October 1 the temporary travel flexibility to the U.S. will revert to the normal regime under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).
This will restore the requirement for all citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda to have a passport or other accepted document that establishes the bearer’s identity and nationality to enter or re‑enter the United States from within the Western Hemisphere.
With Caribbean relying heavily on American tourists for its survival, the January 2007 implementation of the WHTI has already accounted for a 10% decrease in visitor arrivals across the region (Year to date).
Nonetheless, Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett remains upbeat about the island’s prospects for growth to year end and into the 2007-2008 Winter Season. “The WHTI is simply a fact of life, and we have known about it for a while, so plans are well underway to reverse the decline.
Edmund Bartlett
This includes the aggressive promotion of WHTI compliance among potential and seasoned travelers alike. Special code share arrangements ensure that there is no deficit if airlift into Jamaica, and many private sector players have invested heavily in incentive schemes for American visitors who show Jamaica as the first stamp in their new passports. When we look at the bullish forward bookings into the island, we have reason to believe that the strategies are already working.”
Under the WHTI’s temporary regime of relief , U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda who had applied for but not yet received passports were allowed free movement across American borders by air with a government issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application. Children under the age of 16 traveling with their parents or legal guardian were allowed to travel with the child’s proof of application.
Mr. Bartlett once again focused on the art of the possible. “The US Government is reporting that it has managed to decrease the turnaround time for passport processing from 14 weeks to between 8 and 10 weeks, with the possibility of even greater efficiency by January 2008. This will further enhance our efforts to halt the decline in the numbers…this is certainly not far fetched when you consider that the USG is putting out a couple million passports per month.
In a good year, Jamaica attracts about 1 million stopover visitors from the USA, accounting for a mere 1% of American travelers”
The WHTI passport requirement will not apply to cruise ship passengers making the trip before January 31, 2008, the US Department of Homeland Security indicates that plans are afoot to replace the practice of accepting solely oral declarations of citizenship.
If and when this comes into force, citizens (re) entering U.S. territory by land or sea (including ferries), could be required to present a valid U.S. passport or other documents as determined by the U.S.D.H.S. in a forthcoming separate rule. Minister Bartlett reiterated his government’s concern about this split regime. “As an island, we have long expressed our concern that the regime applies solely to air traffic, because it creates special and differential conditions for cruise ship passengers. As the preferred cruise shipping destination in the world, we value this sub sector very highly, but it is the stop-over segment that is the mainstay of our trade. There are significantly more of them, and they spend substantially more than the cruise passengers.
CARICOM has a lot of work to do if we are to get Washington’s attention on this matter in a meaningful way. A level playing field is the only way in this global market.”
The potential fallout from the WHTI was raised by the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) during a special session of its national council to introduce the new Tourism Minister late last week. As he did today, the Minister expressed great optimism that this challenge will be circumvented to restore tourism to its previous growth path.
The WHTI requirements arose out of recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission, in the U.S., and were subsequently passed into law by the Congress as part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.
