Enrique Eduardo de Marchena, president of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association, is advocating for Caribbean governments to reconsider the high cost of visas that affect inter-island traffic. Speaking during Marketplace, he mentioned that he had to pay US$50 for the right to get a visa and then had to wait an additional hour at the St. Lucia airport in order for his visa to be processed by migration authorities. “And it took a month to get the permit for the visa to be issued here, and I am the president of CHTA,” he commented. “We are damaging ourselves,” he stressed. <\/p>\n
Alec Sanguinetti, executive director of the Caribbean Hotel Association, summed it up by saying that “we are putting up barriers to travelers.” He said this is in contradiction to the spirit of free trade under the Caricom free trade agreement under effect within the Caribbean. <\/p>\n
De Marchena said that St. Lucia’s visa requirement for Dominicans was not unique. He said last year when visiting the Bahamas he had a similar problem. He said he was charged US$100 visa to enter Bahamas. At the time, he was told that the Bahamas government would create a task force to look into the issue. <\/p>\n
De Marchena commended the more proactive approach that has been taken by Curacao that has implemented a program where anyone who already has a US or Schengen visa does not require a Curacao visa to enter the country. “The visa requirement is detrimental to traveling around the Caribbean, an area that is already affected by the lack of inter-air connections,? said De Marchena.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Enrique Eduardo de Marchena, president of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association, is advocating for Caribbean governments to reconsider the high cost of visas that affect inter-island traffic. Speaking during Marketplace, he mentioned that he had to pay US$50 for the right to get a visa and then had to wait an additional hour at … <\/p>\n