Passport Restriction Story Draws Reader Responses

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Passport Restriction Story Draws Reader Responses

By Craig Altschul
May 16, 2005

Requiring a passport to cross the U.S./Canadian border (Industry Report 5/2/05) is not such bad idea, according to Peter Fritz, sales manager for Intrawest's Travel and Leisure Group, responding to our story about President Bush asking to review the requirement.

"I guess it is a sign of the times," Fritz told The Industry Report, "and frankly, I am surprised it has taken this long for such regulations to be put into place. I suspect there will be some resentment from travelers to get a passport, and thus cross-border travel will be affected short term. However those who really want to travel will have to suck it up, fill out the application and pay the fee.

"If the law comes to pass, the challenge will be for both our governments, and the tourism industry to get the word out that travelers must have a passport or they will be turned back. Long term, I don't believe there will be any problems and people will wonder how they managed without a passport. It's the one piece of ID that is recognized worldwide, with a lousy photo of yourself, why not get one?"

Former Charlevoix Resort (Eastern Provinces) General Manager Yves Delvallé reminds us that only about 18 percent of U.S. citizens carry a passport, so it is his opinion that the U.S. government will back off from the plan.

"Based on my knowledge of the number of yearly U.S. visitors to Charlevoix over the last seven years, the resort area could lose as much as 6 to 8 percent of U.S. business per year. That would be a drama because the major economy of the region depends on tourism at 3,000 jobs," Delvallé says.

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