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 Travel & Outdoors | December 2006 
Don't Forget Your Passport
 Peter J. Howe - Boston Globe
Three years after Congress first moved to require every traveler entering this country hold a passport, including US citizens, the rule is finally taking effect Jan. 23 - and roiling the tourism industry from Toronto to Tortola.
For years, US citizens have been able to travel to Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, and many Caribbean destinations and get back into the United States without a passport, as long as they had proof of identity, such as a birth certificate and driver's license. That ends Jan. 23 for everyone traveling by air.
Sometime before mid-2009, people driving across the Canadian and Mexican borders will have to flash a passport or begin carrying a new federally issued, passport-like identity card, a potentially major change for communities along northern New England's border with Canada.
More immediately, many resorts and tourism promotion authorities are bracing for lost business this winter if large numbers of US citizens balk at the $97 cost and the hassle of getting a passport, which requires getting a special photograph and a copy of a birth certificate. Only one-quarter of US citizens - who account for the overwhelming majority of international trips - hold passports.
The Conference Board of Canada, a research group, has predicted the move could reduce by 7.7 million annually the number of US visits by 2008, a $1.8 billion hit on Canada's economy.
To the south, several Caribbean and Mexican resorts - such as the Our Lucaya Resort on Grand Bahama Island - are offering $100 credits or discounts intended to offset the cost for visitors from the United States who've had to get a passport.
At the CasaMagna Marriott Puerto Vallarta in Mexico, a 433-room oceanfront resort, guests who arrive between Jan. 1 and April 30 whose first passport stamp is at the Puerto Vallarta customs office will also get $100 off. About 20 percent of US visitors to the Pacific Coast tourist hot spot arrive without passports now, and "we're concerned" the new rule could dampen business, said Dennis Whitelaw, manager of the Marriott resort.
In Aruba recently, about 25 percent of US visitors have been arriving without passports, said Gina Lopez-Gnecco of the Aruba Tourism Authority. Several resorts around the Dutch colony off the coast of Venezuela are offering food, beverage, and room credits - and at the Boardwalk Boutique Hotel, a $50-per-person car-rental voucher for week-long guests - to ease any financial sting from getting a passport.
In late 2004, in response to fears of terrorists infiltrating the United States, Congress adopted laws mandating that everyone entering the country, including US citizens, carry a passport. Congress and homeland security officials wrangled for months over when the rule would take effect, before picking Jan. 23, well after the Christmas travel rush.
US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the agency has long been concerned terrorists or criminals posing as American, Bermudian, Canadian, or Mexican citizens could use forged birth certificates and driver's licenses to enter the country.
Today, according to the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs, there are 14 countries and territories to which US citizens can travel and get back into this country without carrying a US passport: Antigua and Barbuda; Aruba; Bahamas; Bermuda; Canada; Dominica; Mexico; Netherlands Antilles (including Curacao and St. Maarten); Palau; Panama; St. Kitts and Nevis; St. Lucia; and St. Vincent and Grenadines.
Passports are not currently required for visitors returning from the British Virgin Islands, such as Tortola and Virgin Gorda, but are required for other British West Indies nations such as Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and Turks and Caicos.
A study by Homeland Security in September found that 90 percent of air passengers heading to the United States from Canada had passports. Among US citizens traveling outbound, 58 percent of those going to Mexico had passports, 69 percent to Canada, and 75 percent to the Caribbean.
"Most of the air travel market is already in pretty good compliance," said Kelly Klundt, a spokeswoman for the US Customs and Border Protection agency.
Both the government and private industry are working hard to alert travelers. American Airlines, the world's largest airline, has sent out "literally hundreds of thousands of emails" to customers warning of the Jan. 23 passport requirement, spokesman Ned Raynolds said.
At Delta Air Lines, everyone calling the reservations number and being put on hold hears a "get a passport" message along with recorded music.
Nevertheless, some industry leaders warn there could be a lot of last-minute disruption and surprised people rushing to get passports to keep airline tickets and reservations from going to waste.
"There's a lot of confusion out there," said William H. MacDougall, president of Travel Massachusetts, a Boston nonprofit group that promotes the state to international visitors. "Until something is implemented, people won't adapt."
One sign of confusion is that despite being having "United States" in their names, US Virgin Islands resorts have decided they need to launch a ''no passport required" marketing campaign offering US citizens 20 percent discounts at resorts like the Divi Carina Bay Resort and Hotel Caravelle on St. Croix and the Bolongo Bay Beach Resort and Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort & Spa.
Luana Wheatley, a spokeswoman for the US Virgin Islands Hotel & Tourism Association, said that in recent months, hotels there have been ''reporting a decrease in occupancy numbers. There's been very limited mention of our exemption, and we're finding that non-passport-holders are confused about where they can and can't visit."
How to get a passport
Where: You can apply for a new passport at 7,000 locations around the United States, including many post offices and city and town halls. Fill out form DS-11 from the US Department of State or download it from its website, travel.state.gov, but don't sign it until you are with a passport agent who tells you to.
What you'll need: Proof of US citizenship such as a certified birth certificate and your Social Security number and two identical 2-inch-by-2-inch color photos taken within six months that match your current appearance. Children under 13 must apply in person, and 14- to 17-year-olds may need parents' consent.
How much: Cost is $97 for adults, $82 for youths 17 and younger. Checks and credit cards are accepted. Passports normally take 6 weeks to be issued.
Renewals: You can renew an old passport, if it's no more than 15 years old and you were older than 15 when it was issued. Fill out form DS-82, and mail it in with your old passport, two photos, self-addressed return envelope, and $67 fee. Make a check payable to the US Department of State and send to National Passport Processing, PO Box 13349, Philadelphia, PA 19101 (or by overnight delivery to Dept. 13349, 1617 Brett Road, New Castle, DE 19720.) Go to travel.state.gov for details.
Traveling soon: If you need a passport for travel within 14 days, you can get an expedited passport at the O'Neill Federal Building in Boston during weekday office hours after calling 1-877-487-2778 to make an appointment. Expedited passports cost $60 more, plus overnight delivery costs.
Peter J. Howe can be reached at howeglobe.com. |
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