Friday, October 20, 2006

 

documentation and international travel

As you may know the US Gov't has implemented a Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative that will require secure ID for everyone entering (or re-entering) the country. Currently only about 23% of American's have passports, so the implementation of this policy will impact both foreign visitors and Americans traveling abroad. The domestic travel trade is quite concerned about how well this will work, as are authorities in Canada, Mexico, etc.

Here's an example of the current debate
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/10/19/wilkins-passcard.html.

Travelers' awareness of these regulations and the role they may play in discouraging travel abroad have not been well investigated.

Comments:
while it might be tacky to comment on my own post, here's a link about destinations creating incentives to encourage Americans to get passports. It might also reflect some of Aruba's image issues discussed earlier on this blog

Aruba hotels entice Americans with passport incentives

A number of hotels are offering perks such as food and beverage credits and car rental discounts to encourage Americans to get their passports and visit Aruba. "Aruba saw the need to get its hotel and resort partners to create programs to entice travelers to get the proper travel documents, and to demonstrate our appreciation for making Aruba their first vacation destination with their new passport," said Myrna Jansen, managing director of the Aruba Tourism Authority. Travel Weekly (free registration) (10/30)
 
Post a Comment

<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?