US embassy cable - 05NASSAU659

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, Tourism 
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