The Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) said that the sector has already started losing thousands of US dollars because of the Caricom special visa, which became effective yesterday.

According to Horace Peterkin, who heads the umbrella organisation of hotels, villas, attractions and tour companies, the cancellations could cause the sector to lose upwards of US$30 million by the time the visa regime ends in May.

“Some hotels have already received cancellations from a number of places because people are booking elsewhere,” Peterkin told the Observer yesterday. “Bookings have slowed down from Russia, Switzerland Austria and many other areas.”

Peterkin, who declined to name the affected properties, said a recent cancellation at a large hotel in Montego Bay amounted to 900 room nights because the visitors opted instead to go to the Dominican Republic to avoid paying US$100 for the Caricom visa.

“Two weeks ago, another hotel lost US$150,000 worth of bookings,” he said. “They were able to re-book some of that but they lost out on one of the richest clients in the world who always stays for three weeks and has some of his friends flying in and out.”

These persons, he said, have also opted for the Dominican Republic.

Peterkin based his projections on the visitor arrival figures from 2004 to last year, saying that the sector will lose anywhere from US$10 million to US$30 million during the period that the Caricom visa remains in effect.

Under the Caricom visa regime, nationals from all countries except France, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States and their dependent territories, as well as Canada, Germany, Japan, Italy, Ireland, South Africa, and Caricom, except for Haiti, are required to have a visa for travel to the region in order to access the Caricom single domestic space during the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 tournament.

But the regime, which will run through to May 15, has attracted heavy flak from the JHTA, as well as cricket fans from New Zealand and Australia, whose teams will be competing in the limited overs tournament being played in 10 Caribbean countries.

Peterkin said while some persons can afford to pay for the visa they do not want to go through the hassle of acquiring it. He, however, lauded the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) for simplifying the process.

Prior to the intervention of the JTB, persons requiring the visa had to complete an application form and submit it along with a US money draft, pictures and their passport to an office in London.

“Some countries refused to allow their nationals to send their passports to a foreign country, so even if they wanted to, they couldn’t do it,” he said.

This has since been modified and applicants can now fill out and pay for the visa online and mail the application along with a photo copy of the picture page of the passport to an office either in Germany, Switzerland or London.

“It is then processed in four days and you get what is called a comfort letter, which says you are cleared to be given a visa,” said Peterkin. “When you arrive, the immigration officers examine the passport and if they are satisfied they will stamp it.”

The issue, he noted, has been compounded as the sector is already trying to recover from the United States passport regime for American citizens.

Under this regime, which came into effect on January 23, all American citizens returning home by air are required to have a passport. Those entering the US by land or on cruise ships are exempted until June 1, 2009.

“Between the Caricom visa and passport requirement, the double blow could be quite substantial as indications are that some persons are not booking the Caribbean islands like they did in previous years,” said the JHTA president.

He also said that the Piñero group was at risk of losing four charters to the Dominican Republic during the annual Spring Break holiday.

“These students coming down can’t afford to pay the extra US$100, when their whole package was just a couple of hundred dollars sharing three or four to a room,” he said, adding that the smaller hotels will be the worst affected because their room rates are not high and they are unable, like some larger hotels, to offset the cost of the US passport.