Incentives offered to entice
travellers to obtain passports
PHILIPSBURG/NEW YORK--With the US new passport requirement set to be enforced on January 23, Caribbean destinations and hotels are offering incentives to entice travellers to get passports and head to the region.
St. Maarten properties are also part of the programme with Divi Little Bay Beach Resort, Princess Heights, Oyster Bay Beach Resort and Turquoise Shell Inn offering guests US $100 in St. Maarten Bucks to be spent on island attractions, with the purchase of their new or renewed passports issued after December 15, 2006. The offer is valid for travel now through December 31 with a booking window now through December 30, 2007.
Sonesta Maho Beach and Casino and Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort and Casino are also offering guests US $100 in St. Maarten Bucks to be spent on island attractions with the purchase of their new passports. Valid for travel from January 23 to December 17, guests will receive the “bucks” to be spent at participating restaurants, hotels, car rental agencies and retailers in St. Maarten through December 31.
Guests must show a new or renewed passport issued after November 26 with St. Maarten as the first arrival stamp to redeem the promotion. A minimum of a five-night stay is required. Guests will receive a maximum of US $200 in St. Maarten Bucks.
“The Caribbean region applauds the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and the US Government’s efforts to increase security at the borders,” said Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO). “However, we believe that by having different sets of rules depending on one’s mode of transportation: sea, air or land; travellers may become confused, which will discourage commerce and tourism.”
“We are concerned that the acceleration of the implementation deadline for airline passengers does not provide ample advance notice to enable the public to obtain passports,” Vanderpool-Wallace added.
Sellers of Caribbean travel hope the following offers will help keep people travelling to the Caribbean beyond January 23. Incentives may include full reimbursement of basic passport fees, complimentary spa packages, golf greens fees, attraction tours, room upgrades, extra nights and gift shop purchases.
Jamaica launched a new program encouraging US citizens to get their passports, by rewarding vacationers who make Jamaica their first visit with their new passports. Rewards include special credits amounting to the cost of obtaining a passport, while on the island.
The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) is also implementing “Jamaican Morning Coffee Breaks” to encourage Americans to obtain their passports. The JTB will hold coffee breaks at major commuter terminals in Boston at South Station on January 23, New York at Grand Central Station’s Vanderbilt Hall in February 2007, Chicago, and Washington, DC, where consumers can actually apply for their passports onsite as well as collect the required forms. Free Jamaican coffee will be served.
Arawak Beach Inn of Anguilla is offering a special rate and a complimentary day-trip to those travellers who obtain a passport and make Anguilla the first stamp in their new passports. Rates start at US $240 per person, based on double occupancy, and vary during different seasons.
Frigate Bay Resort in St. Kitts is offering 20 per cent off stays of three nights or more to those who make St. Kitts the first stamp in their new passports, during the hotel’s most popular time of year.
Chain resorts, independent resorts and tour operators in Aruba, the Bahamas, St. Lucia and other destinations are offering similar incentives.
Many Caribbean governments, as well as CTO, are creating public awareness campaigns to inform the public of the need to obtain a passport by the January 23 WHTI implementation date as well as where and how to get one.
US passports may be obtained through the US Postal Service. The passport fees are paid to the US Department of State while execution fees are paid to the postmaster.
St Maarten vacation rental
