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 Travel & Outdoors | November 2006 
Caribbean Awash in Deals After Passport Worries
 L.A. Johnson - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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Alarmed that new U.S. passport requirements could cost the Caribbean region billions of dollars in lost visitors and tourism jobs, resorts and tourism bureaus there are offering a variety of discounts to keep travelers coming to their sandy shores.
In the past, U.S. travelers often needed only a driver's license and a birth certificate.
However, under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, by Jan. 23, 2007, all air travelers to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda will be required to have a passport in order to leave or re-enter the United States.
New passports are $97 for adults and $82 for children but can cost more if obtained through expedited passport services.
While the new regulation affects several regions, Caribbean destinations appear to be the most concerned that they will be negatively impacted.
In fact, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, secretary general for the 32-member Caribbean Tourism Organization, last month compared the action to "a category 6 hurricane."
"Needless to say, the affected Caribbean nations are extremely disappointed with this outcome because the potential economic impact on their business could be catastrophic," he said in a public statement.
According to a report written by the World Travel & Tourism Council on behalf of the Caribbean Hotel Association, the region could lose $2.6 billion in visitor exports and more than 188,300 travel and tourism jobs as travelers without passports cancel or postpone trips due to the new regulation.
So as the heavy winter travel season opens next month, the resorts and tourism agencies, including some in Mexico, are fighting back with discounts. Among some of the deals:
The Arawak Beach Inn in Anguilla is offering a four-night Passport to Paradise package "to encourage prospective Caribbean travelers to get their first passport and have Anguilla be the premier stamp," according to its Web site, www.arawakbeach.com. Rates start at $240 per person, double occupancy.
Club Peace & Plenty on Exuma in the Bahamas will cover the cost of up to four new passports for people booking trips by Dec. 31 for trips planned through Jan. 2, 2008. Call 800-525-2210 for details.
Cheapcaribbean.com will rebate travelers the cost of passport fees on trips booked through the end of the year for each person on the trip. Visit: www.cheapcaribbean.com/attractions.jsp?attID=128 or call 800-915-2322.
To encourage Jamaica tourism, www.visitjamaica.com is offering a Passport to Rewards program. If Jamaica is the first port of entry stamped on a traveler's new passport, the traveler will receive credits that can be redeemed for a variety of items including a room upgrade, stay extension or spa service. For details visit, www.visitjamaica.com/rewards/.
Sunset Resorts properties - Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort & Spa in Ocho Rios, Sunset Beach Resort & Spa in Montego Bay and Sunset at the Palms in Negril - will offer travelers $200 in resort credits on stays of five or more nights as part of this www.visitjamaica.com tourism promotion. Visit www.sunsetresortsjamaica.com.
Couples Resorts in Jamaica - Couples Ocho Rios, Couples Sans Souci, Couples Swept Away and Couples Negril - are offering a similar promotion. Travelers booking at least a five-night stay at one of the four Couples resorts will receive a $200 spa credit per room. The trip must be booked before Dec. 15 and taken between Jan. 1 and April 1 of next year. Travelers will be required to show their passports to prove Jamaica is the first stamp. Visit www.couples.com.
Local travel agents have yet to see Pittsburghers make a rush for these deals.
"We haven't seen a flurry of activity of people deciding they're going to take a trip to Bermuda and take advantage of somebody's offer to cover the cost or portion of the cost of passports," says Marc Zelenski, sales and marketing director for Worldview Travel in Mt. Lebanon. "A fair amount of that is because sophisticated travelers already have passports."
It's also possible that people who don't have passports may opt to go to Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, where passports won't be required, he said.
Paul Busang, owner of Gulliver's Travels in Shadyside, hasn't seen passport incentives as a boon to Caribbean travel bookings, thus far.
"To Pittsburgh people, it's probably not going to make a difference," he says, stressing he was born, raised and educated in Pittsburgh and is not knocking the city.
"The incentives are not a decision maker," he says. "If it's cold in February in Pittsburgh, we're getting the hell out of here. That's certainly more of a decision maker [for trips to] the Caribbean and Mexico than a passport."
At the CasaMagna Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort, visitors who show the property is the first destination stamped on their passport will receive a $100 resort credit. A five-night minimum stay is required and the offer is valid Jan. 1 through April 30, 2007. For more information call 888-PARADISE (888-727-2347) or visit www.casamagnapuertovallarta.com.
Several Aruba hotels are offering food and beverage credits ranging from $25 to $100 per person or $50 car rental vouchers for travelers making Aruba the first stamp in their passports. For more information visit, www.aruba.com or call 800-TO-ARUBA.
GoGo Vacations is offering some discounted trips with built-in passport incentives, says Vicki Abel, president of Odyssey Travel, Inc. in Murrysville. The Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort and Casino is offering a five-night trip, including round-trip airfare, for $1,475 per person. The Holiday Inn SunSpree resort in Jamaica is offering a seven-night, all-inclusive package, with airfare, for $1,261 per person.
This also traditionally is a slow booking season. So, deals are being offered to encourage travelers to book early, Ms. Abel said.
Although these discounts aren't specifically tied to any passport reimbursement incentive, the savings offered on some packages is large enough to offset the price of a passport.
Apple Vacations is offering charter packages that include a four-night stay at its six-apple Riu Palace resort in Punta Cana. Rates are $979 for a junior suite, $1,129 for a non-Jacuzzi suite and $1,209 per person for a Jacuzzi suite and the savings (already reflected in the price) ranges from $260 per person to $310 per person, Ms. Abel said.
GoGo Vacations also is offering early booking specials for seven-night stays at a Marriott on Grand Cayman, $1,135 per person (a savings of $150) and the Comfort Suites on Turks & Caicos, $433 per person (a savings of $133.) Airfare is not included.
Because Dick Ponzio specializes in international travel, about 95 percent of his clients already have passports.
"The best photo ID is a passport. Nobody questions it," says Mr. Ponzio, owner of Ponzio International Travel, Inc. in Mt. Lebanon. "Everybody should have a passport because you never know when a bargain is going to come up, and you want to jump on it."
L.A. Johnson can be reached at ljohnson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3903. |
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