CTO Senior Officials Riled by WHTI’s Untouched Section

Reaction was swift to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative passed by Congress September 29, which gave travelers entering the U.S. by land and sea until June 2009 to procure a valid passport.

The U.S. Congress, however, remained silent on the air portion section of the WHTI, so the implementation date of January 8, 2007 remains in place requiring a passport for all travelers returning to the U.S. by air.

Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, CTO’s secretary general, likened the negative effect of the passport requirement for air travelers to a “Category 6 hurricane.”

“It is incomprehensible that the U.S. government would approve an amendment that excludes air arrivals from the Caribbean and therefore grant an additional advantage to cruise lines in the Caribbean, which already enjoy a significant competitive advantage especially since the cruise lines also supported the inclusion of air arrivals” Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace said.

The economic impact on tourism within the Caribbean “could be catastrophic and devastating,” the secretary general said. He suggested that some Caribbean destinations “will be taking specific actions on this matter.”