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The Caribbean region could lose up to $3.2-billion a year in tourism revenue if the United States goes ahead with new passport rules at the end of the year, according to a study released by the Caribbean Hotel Association last week.

The study, prepared for the association by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), also found that close to 190,000 tourism-related jobs were at risk if the rule was put into effect.

Under new Department of Homeland Security regulations announced in April, American citizens visiting the Caribbean, Central and South America will be required to have a valid passport or another form of identification that would include biometric information, such as fingerprints or iris scan, to re-enter the United States after Dec. 31.

Now, Americans can travel to most Caribbean destinations using other forms of identification, such as a driver's licence or a birth certificate.

The WTTC study examined the percentage of American visitors to the Caribbean who do not use a passport and how the new requirement might impact the region's $25.8-billion annual tourism earnings. Only about 20 per cent of Americans have passports.

The passport rule will cause “a permanent realignment of [tourist] traffic, with spontaneous, last-minute travel significantly reduced,” according to hotel association president Berthia Parle. She said the organization wants an extension of time for the Caribbean to Jan. 1, 2008, the date when American travellers to Canada and Mexico will need a passport to re-enter the United States.

According to major tour operators, the majority of vacation bookings are now made less than 14 days before travel.

Among 23 Caribbean destinations, Jamaica, Dominican Republic and the Bahamas — countries that draw the largest numbers of Americans among those that will fall under the regulations — stand to lose the most money and jobs, according to the WTTC study. Jamaica could lose 114,000 tourism jobs and $1.4-billion a year in income; the Dominican Republic 48,000 jobs and $604-million; the Bahamas 13,000 jobs and $555-million.

As part of the phased-in anti-terrorism regulations, Canadians visiting the United States, or transiting the U.S. on return trips from sun destinations, will have to have a passport by the end of this year. Currently, only about 31 per cent of Canadians have passports.

“The United States' new passport requirement for the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada is likely to change the nature of regional travel and tourism and cause significant hardship for several destinations that have grown to rely on a more open movement of visitors,” said Jean-Claude Baumgarten, president of the WTTC.

In April, the premiers of Ontario and Quebec took their complaints about the security plans to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in Washington, arguing that the proposals could do great economic harm to Canada's two largest provinces.

For more information about the report, visit www.caribbeanhotels.org/caribpassports.ppt.