TIA: Agents should tell clients to check passports now

The Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) is encouraging agents to tell their clients to check the expiry date on their passports and renew them before October if they expire at the end of the year or in the first 6 months of 2005. A TIA spokeswoman told TravelMole that this way people affected by the tough new US passport rules would get round the problem of having to travel to London for a visa. As previously reported by TravelMole there is an October 26 deadline when passengers with passports issued after that date must have a visa for travel to the US and apply for it in person at the US embassy in London. This will apply until the UK introduces passports capable of storing biometric data – expected to be in mid 2005. The spokeswoman told TravelMole that she believed the scale of the problem caused by the new rules had been exaggerated by the media. She said: “There’s been quite a lot of wrong reporting. Passports issued before October 26 will keep on being valid. And for passports that expire at the end of the year or in the first six months of 2005 if you renew it before the deadline then there’s no problem whatsoever.” However she conceded that for new born babies born after October 26 there was no way round the problem for their families, but commented: “How many newborn babies are going to be going to the US anyway? It’s going to be just a few cases.” Meanwhile Liberal Democrat tourism spokesman Adrian Sanders MP has added his voice to concerns about the new requirements. Mr Sanders is among those who believe that the new restrictions will lead to a downturn in visitor numbers to the US. Pointing out that the American Embassy in London already finds it “difficult” to cope with demand, Mr Sanders said: “Imagine the chaos that will ensue when thousands of would be British visitors to the US descend on Grosvenor Square. The end result will be that British tourists will stay away from the US and find alternative holiday destinations.” He added: “Perhaps people who were planning to visit the United States in 2004 should leave their passports at home and, instead, enjoy the delights of their own country. You don’t need a visa to visit the UK’s tourist attractions.” As reported by TravelMole yesterday, ABTA has sought to dampen down concerns about the proposals pointing out that most UK visitors to the USA travel under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and will not be affected.