Record numbers seek passports in U.S., Canada

From Mike M. Ahlers
CNN

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Record numbers of U.S. and Canadian citizens applied for passports in recent weeks in advance of a January 23 deadline requiring all air travelers to present passports when flying between the United States and Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

The U.S. State Department issued 320,000 passports the first week of January -- an all-time high -- and has been able to keep up with demand.

In Canada, however, travelers waited in long lines -- lasting up to four hours in Ottawa and five hours in Edmonton, Alberta -- for Canadian passports, which they'll need to fly to U.S. destinations.

Meanwhile, some Caribbean resorts are offering to pay for guests' passports, fearing the cost may steer tourists to Florida or other destinations.

The reason for all the activity is the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which the U.S. Congress passed in 2004.

The law seeks to improve security by requiring all air travelers -- including U.S. citizens -- to present a valid passport when flying between the United States and Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Driver's licenses or birth certificates alone will no longer be accepted as a form of identification.

U.S. government and travel industry officials said they expect minimal disruptions January 23 and the days beyond.

"We're very much hoping that it will be a nonevent," said Rick Webster of the Travel Industry Association.

About 88 percent of air travelers -- including returning Americans -- already carry acceptable travel documents when flying between North American countries, recent surveys show. And while the government is insisting that international fliers present passports, citizens without passports may be allowed to fly if they pass a secondary screening.

Furthermore, airlines are being told the government will exercise a degree of leniency in the initial days of the change.

Concerns are far greater about a law extending the passport requirement to U.S. land and sea borders. That change could come as early as January 1, 2008, and faces stiff opposition from businesses and commuters on both side of the U.S.-Canadian border. Currently, 27 percent of U.S. citizens hold passports.

Surge in passport applications

The State Department said it began beefing up its passport offices years ago in anticipation of the surge in applications.

And the surge has come: In December, the State Department issued slightly more than 1 million passports -- up 57 percent over that time the year before. Each week has seen a growth in applications, with 320,000 being processed in the first week of 2007, the department said.

"I think [the change] will go pretty smoothly," said Wanda Nesbitt of the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs. "We've been preparing for this for close to two years now."

Caribbean tourism officials said advanced bookings for resort hotels are steady, but they are concerned the new requirement may reduce the number of "impulse" travelers who flock to the warm islands whenever mainland temperatures plummet. Many may not have passports, they said.

Resorts also said the new law is confusing because it applies to air passengers, but not cruise ship passengers. Cruise ship passengers will be required to have passports at a later, undetermined date.

That "creates a difficult communications challenge," said Fred Lounsberry of the Nassau Pleasure Island Promotion Board. "My guess is a lot of people believe it affects everything right now."

The Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board is offering to pay the $97 fee for U.S. passports for people who stay a minimum of two nights at a participating hotel between January 17 and March 31.

"Our strongest desire at this point is that there be a much greater thrust by the U.S. government in public awareness," said Frank Comito of the Bahamas Hotel Association.

State Department officials said they have been aggressive in getting the word out. "We've traveled to well over a hundred cities in the United States. We have reached out to the travel and tourism industry, to the airlines," Nesbitt said.

In addition to passports, the law allows other forms of identification, although they are not widely used.

Department of Homeland Security officials said that the change ultimately could speed up processing of travelers because border officials will have to contend with fewer types of travel documents.

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More information is available at http://www.travel.state.gov. The State Department also has set up a special number -- (877) 487-2778 -- for those with an urgent need to travel.