The vexing Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative, which will require a valid passport of U.S. air
travelers entering or re-entering the U.S. on or after Jan. 8 from
anywhere in the Western Hemisphere, prompted a hotelier on St.
Thomas to fire off an appeal to the Caribbean Hotel Association.
Richard Doumeng,
managing director of the 65-room, family-owned Bolongo Bay Beach
Resort on St. Thomas, pointed out that "there is a fact buried in
the WHTI that has been almost completely ignored in the reportage
throughout the world. Because of [their] political status, the U.S.
Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are exempt from this new law."
U.S. citizens
without passports will still be permitted to come to the U.S.V.I.
and return home after Jan. 8, Doumeng said.
He pointed out that
as past president of the USVI Hotel & Tourism Association and
as current third vice president of the CHA, "I have emphatically
declared the WHTI to be a callous, cold-hearted and destructive
piece of legislation. It already has negatively impacted the entire
region, including the U.S.V.I."
Doumeng seeks "a
simple [asterisk] followed by 'except for U.S. citizens traveling
to the U.S.V.I. and Puerto Rico' " at the bottom of all CHA
releases, Web postings and dealings with industry partners, "to
help fully inform all interested parties."
"We did not create
this law; we did not endorse the initiative; we don't believe the
cruise industry needed any more unfair advantages, and we do not
support its implementation," Doumeng said.
However, the WHTI
has "been passed into law. We understand the sensitivity on this
issue and want to quell any potential bitterness and resentment. We
ask for your understanding of our unique situation."
To
contact reporter Gay Nagle Myers, send e-mail to [email protected].