CARIB JOURNAL: What if a tourist could travel across the Caribbean on a single visa?
That’s the idea of Jamaica Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, who says the implementation of a regional tourist visa regime among CARICOM nations has “huge economic potential.”
“A regional visa regime is something that we’ve been talking about. I think if we are to build Caribbean tourism, then we must recognize that as individual states, we are too small to grow and to benefit from the recovery of tourism as it now stands, but together as a region, we can grow and we can benefit,” Bartlett says. CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATS APP GROUP FOR MORE UPDATES
That would create the potential for a malt-destination tourism network, Bartlett says.
More importantly, it would create a single common airspace, where airlines flying to the Caribbean would pay one fee.
The idea would be that a traveler could clear customs in Jamaica and then be “domestic” across the countries of the Caribbean Community, from Barbados to Antigua to Trinidad.
“It will bring more airlines into our space because the turnaround time for the aircraft will be significantly reduced as a result. More rotations could be had, and thus more visitors can come in,” Bartlett says.
“The other element of importance is that it also provides a new skill set to be developed in the Caribbean area. What tourism will be doing is now saying we’re not just people who have bartenders, cooks and housekeepers, but we are into technology, aviation, logistics and procurement,” he said.
It’s not completely without precedent.
Indeed, for the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, CARICOM treated the nine host countries (and Dominica) and a single domestic space tor travelers for nearly three months.
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Bull Mess
When Jamaica start to promote Antigua with its 365 beaches in its airport and across its tourism product, only then we can talk about that nonsense.
Why is Jamaica competing with the other islands for tourists?
CHUPS CHUPS CHUPS
I call bullshit, when we the smaller islands wanted one Caribbean currency the same Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana and Barbados said no cause the small island would be living off of them and the currency won’t have no value. Let Antigua, st.kitts & nevis, Dominica, st.lucia, vincy and Grenada implement they own visa so the tourist can clear customs in Antigua and travel across them freely. When the clear customs in Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados that’s money for them, when have to over night or wait to get their flights that’s money going to them that is smaller countries can get for our self when they in our EC countries
Agree….Eastern Caribbean small islands will be at a disadvantage if this Jamaican idea becomes the rule…
I had made that point to a Jamaican some time back. They actually destroyed Caribbean integration with Trinidad folding. They actually disregarded the smaller islands. Now watch.
Strange we worked well together during the Cricket World Cup. But that was a one of arrangement. We could have learned from that. But CARICOM is full of politicians that only think about their own Island and would rather be king of their small Island rather than a player in a bigger block. We cannot even agree on electing one Commonwealth Secretary. And when it comes to standing up for Cuba and Venezuela, we are so divided. It’s a sad thing but our big brothers to the North USA and Canada will always exploit that division amongst us.
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