Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05NASSAU659
2005-04-07 20:52:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Nassau
Cable title:  

EARLY REACTION TO NEW U.S. PASSPORT REQUIREMENT --

Tags:  CPAS CASC PREL ECON KPAO BF 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NASSAU 000659 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2015
TAGS: CPAS CASC PREL ECON KPAO BF
SUBJECT: EARLY REACTION TO NEW U.S. PASSPORT REQUIREMENT --
PRIVATE DISMAY

REF: A. STATE 61244

B. STATE 61416

C. STATE 61417

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Witajewski, Reasons 1.4
(b) and (d)

SUMMARY
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NASSAU 000659

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2015
TAGS: CPAS CASC PREL ECON KPAO BF
SUBJECT: EARLY REACTION TO NEW U.S. PASSPORT REQUIREMENT --
PRIVATE DISMAY

REF: A. STATE 61244

B. STATE 61416

C. STATE 61417

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Witajewski, Reasons 1.4
(b) and (d)

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (SBU) The announcement of the Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative (WHTI) on April 5 elicited a mixed response from
Bahamians. The Minister of Immigration is hopeful that the
new requirement will aid his efforts to gain adoption of a
new, more secure document/passport for Bahamians. The
Ministry of Tourism's number two official, Permanent
Secretary Colin Higgs indicated it would be publicly

SIPDIS
supportive of the increased security offered by the passport
requirement, but privately expressed its concern that
potential "impulse travelers" would be discouraged from
visiting The Bahamas. Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell took
the news without comment but agreed to focus on positive
aspects of the program such as reduced delays in processing
at pre-clearance facilities. The CEO of Atlantis/Paradise
Island and the Managing Director of the Radisson Hotel in
conversations with Ambassador and Deputy Chief of Mission
expressed very serious concerns that the program would have
an adverse economic effect and that nine months was too short
a time to implement the plan. Bahamian electronic media
carried reports of the new proposal; one of the country's two
largest newspapers carried the story in its Miami Herald
section, but not in its local editions.
END SUMMARY


2. (U) The Embassy publicly announced the Western Hemisphere
Travel Initiative on April 5 in a press release. The
Ambassador brief Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell during an
April 4 luncheon, while the Deputy Chief of Mission briefed
Immigration and Tourism officials.
All of the Bahamian officials respected the noon, April 5,
news embargo.

Immigration: Action Could Spur New Passport Movement
-------------- --------------


3. (SBU) Minister of Immigration Vincent Peet believed that
the new regulations may provide an incentive for he and his

Bahamian Cabinet colleagues to speed up the decision-making
process regarding the adoption of new, high-tech passports
for Bahamian citizens, a topic which has been under
consideration for at least three years. Peet said that he
and the MFA will advocate for prompt adoption of machine
readable passports with an upgrade capability to biometrics.
The Minister expressed his appreciation for the advance
notice and stated that he is pleased that he will not be
surprised when asked by the press about the new regulations.
Minister Peet did not express concern for any negative impact
on The Bahamas as a result of the new passport requirements.


Tourism: Worried About Impact on Impulse Travelers
-------------- --------------


4. (SBU) Colin Higgs, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry
of Tourism (the number two official in the Ministry)
indicated to DCM that his main concern was with "impulse
travelers" from the U.S. who lack a passport but decide on a
Thursday to fly to The Bahamas on Friday for the weekend.
DCM responded that given that most of these travelers are now
from major metropolitan areas along the East Coast, it is
likely that many of such travelers would already possess
passports. DCM emphasized that there will be an intense
publicity campaign in the U.S. to educate and inform all
potential international travelers of the new regulations. He
encouraged the Ministry to begin its own notification
campaign on government, industry, and specific hotel web
sites. DCM and Economics Officer also explained that the
Embassy will initiate an intensive and sustained campaign to
disseminate information on the law change to the tens of
thousands of U.S. citizens who live in The Bahamas. At the
conclusion of the briefing, Higgs promised that when asked,
he would put a positive spin on the changes, emphasizing that
the passport requirement will provide a higher level of
security for all travelers.


5. (U) Prime Minister Christie and Foreign Minister
Mitchell were also given advance notice of the announcement.
Neither had comments or questions. The Foreign Minister
agreed to keep a positive tone if asked.


Hoteliers: "A Real Disaster"
--------------


6. (U) Paul O'Neil, CEO of the Atlantis resort on Paradise
Island, contacted the Embassy April 5 for more information.
Mr. O'Neil expressed to DCM his serious concerns about the
proposed implementation timetable.


7. (C) In separate conversations the next day with
Ambassador and DCM on April 6, O'Neil characterized the
proposed January 1, 2006, implementation date as "a potential
financial disaster." O'Neil explained that less than half
of their U.S. guests current possess passports, that over
100,000 rooms had already been booked by U.S. clients for
2006 that it would be a logistical nightmare to try to
contact them to advise them of the need to obtain passports.
(Atlantis has over 3,000 rooms and is in the process of a $1
billion expansion that will take its capacity to over 4,000.)
Ambassador advised O'Neil to use the period of public
comment on the proposed rule to make known his company's
concerns about the proposed rule's impact rather than engage
in a public debate. O'Neil agreed that he would be sending a
letter laying out his company's concerns. Providing
additional details to DCM, O'Neil said that he and others in
the industry would make clear to Washington the impact of the
proposed rule to an industry that was "the lifeblood of the
Caribbean (and) The Bahamas." O'Neil declared that the
industry "was beside themselves" at the announcement, felt
that they had not been properly consulted, and believed that
the impact on their business would be "just awful." O'Neil
confirmed that they had already engaged their Washington
attorneys and lobbyists to seek to delay implementation "for
a couple of years."

8. (C) Separately, Sol Kerzner, founder and chairman of
Kerzner International, met with Ambassador the evening of
April 6 to ask our assistance in delaying implementation of
the proposed passport rule. This was the first meet with Sol
Kerzner who owns the Atlantis-Paradise Island resorts and
spend most of his time off island.


9. (C) Another prominent Bahamian hotelier and head of the
tourist promotion board, George Myers, questioned DCM on
April 6, asking rhetorically, "Have you guys gone totally
bananas? What on God's earth are you trying to do to us
(with this proposed regulation)?" Mr. Myers similarly
claimed to have been unaware of any industry-USG
consultations. Asked what his preferences would be, Myers
suggested at a minimum delaying any implementation of the
rule until 2007 so that hotel owners and operators would have
more time to inform and educate the public. Myers pointed
out that much of the industry's business was group or
convention based arranged through wholesales and
intermediaries and in these cases the hotels would not have
any ability to contact guests individually to advise them of
the proposed passport requirement. Myers thought that
hoteliers in The Bahamas separately, and as a member of the
Caribbean Hotel Association would all register objections to
a January 1, 2006, implementation date. Ending the
conversation, Myers jokingly asked if the new regulation and
implementation date was really conceived of by "Hawaiian and
Puerto Rican hotel owners as a way to drive us out of
business and keep it all at home?"


COMMENT
--------------


10. (U) While the announcement was covered in both the
print and broadcast media, the initial public response in The
Bahamas has been muted. There is a good possibility that the
tone of public comment will turn much more negative in the
coming days as the implications of the proposed new rule sink
in. Initial industry reaction in private has already been
sharply critical. As expected, with almost five million U.S.
citizens visiting The Bahamas annually, the hotel component
of Bahamas' tourist industry -- the engine of the Bahamian
economy -- is the most concerned about the impact of the new
passport requirement on their share of this huge market.
Their objections and requests to delay implementation will
increase dramatically at the first sign of problems or
backlogs in passport issuance by the Department -- or when
peak-season Thanksgiving and Christmas reservations begin to
be canceled by clients who didn't get the word and are thus
unable to travel.

ROOD