TRAVEL INDUSTRY LAUNCHES NEW WEB
SITE TO MAKE GETTING A PASSPORT EASIER IN ADVANCE OF NEW REQUIREMENTS
GetAPassportNow.com Provides Links to U.S., Canadian and Mexican Passport Information
WASHINGTON,
DC -- The travel industry has launched a new website, GetAPassportNow.com, to inform travelers about
new passport requirements and to help them get passports. The purpose of the website is to
also educate travelers about pending deadlines contained in the Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative (WHTI) recently revised by Congressional action and provide easy access to
passport information.
"The message is that if you want to travel to or from the U.S., get a passport,"
Travel Industry Association President Roger Dow said of the new website.
WHTI requires all air travelers to the U.S. to have a passport or other secure document by
January 23, 2007, including Americans returning from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. In
addition, all travelers by land and sea must meet this requirement by an unspecified
deadline not later than June 1, 2009.
Just 27 percent of all Americans currently have a passport, while 40 percent of Canadians
have the official government-issued travel document.
"We don’t want anyone to be surprised by the new requirements," Dow said.
"No one’s vacation or business trip should be ruined because they didn’t
know they needed a passport."
The one-page site explains the new passport requirements, cites the deadlines, and
provides links where citizens of the U.S., Canada and Mexico can get information about and
applications for their respective passports. It is intended to supplement efforts by the
U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security to inform travelers about the new rules.
TIA and the Travel Business Roundtable (TBR) have worked closely with Congress and the
Administration to ensure that the new rules provide enhanced security for travelers with
minimal disruption.
Click here to view the site. TIA and TBR
encourage its partners throughout the travel industry to provide links to GetAPassportNow.com.
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