Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell told The Bahamas Tuesday that that assurance came Monday when CARICOM foreign ministers met with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in New York.
The fast approaching implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) has fueled much concern for tourism stakeholders, who feel that not enough has occurred to sufficiently sensitize the U.S. traveling public about the pending changes.
Designed as a means of border protection from terrorism, the WHTI would require ﾖ with some exceptions ﾖ that Americans, as well as Canadians, Mexicans and Bermudans present a passport to enter the U.S. when arriving by air or sea from any part of the western hemisphere, including The Bahamas.
The State Departmentﾒs website indicates that in addition to a passport, other secure accepted documents, which establish the bearerﾒs identity and nationality, will also be permitted.
Since the announcement regarding the initiative, the timeline has been reviewed. Only recently, officials announced that the date will change from January 1, 2007 to January 8, 2007.
But the Bahamas Hotel Association is recommending an implementation date of June 1, 2009.
Minister Mitchell, however, indicated that this does not now appear likely.
“We will certainly be checking [on this] within days as opposed to weeks because it is quite important that we get it resolved. I must confess that there was not much comfort given to moving the deadline back. Instead, they talked in terms of trying to make sure that people know that they have to have passports and that the delivery of passports is more efficiently done,” Minister Mitchell said.
“But I am supposed to be addressing the U.S. Congress on Wednesday and I will certainly take the opportunity to raise the issue to see how we can bring influence to bear in trying to resolve the problem.”
The public and private sectors have been collaborating on the issue since last year, implementing a communications plan directed at visitors.
The effort has included the placement of posters in hotels, air and sea ports in The Bahamas and at trade and travel shows. The Bahamas has also secured advertisements and articles in onboard airline publications and has posted notices and application instructions on websites and through reservations outlets.
But according to the BHA, much more needs to be done to prevent significant economic fallout.
Tourism stakeholders are not the only ones expressing concern. Government officials admit that an early implementation date will also have an adverse effect on trade, yet another argument Minister Mitchell is expected to present to U.S. officials.
The minister is urging both the private and public sectors to continue doing what they have to be prepared.
“Obviously, what we have to do is reinforce with the travel agents, the customs areas in the United States etc. when people are coming in and going out that they are going to need this passport and this is the best we can do on our end,” Minister Mitchell said.
According to the minister, the WHTI was not the only issue discussed at the meeting on Monday.
He said the ongoing concern surrounding the future of the counter-narcotics mission, Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT), also topped the agenda.
“Continued security cooperation has been reaffirmed by the U.S.,” he said. “And so there is just a general commitment to support it.”
Several months ago, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld revealed plans to pull U.S. Army helicopters out of the OBPAT mission by next October.
Secretary Rumsfeld indicated that the U.S. militaryﾒs resources were being stretched thin by ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
By: Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
