Caribbean tourism officials are dreading Jan. 1, 2007, when U.S. citizens will be required to carry passports to reenter the United States after travel to the Caribbean and other destinations, and are asking U.S. officials to delay the program.

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) wants the U.S. to delay the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, a post-9/11 plan to tighten U.S. border security. Caribbean tourism officials, who previously succeeded in getting the plan pushed back from Jan. 1, 2006, claim that they will be at a competitive disadvantage because Mexico and Canada will have an extra year where travelers won't need a passport to get back into the U.S.

Caribbean leaders also are worried that American travelers are unprepared for the new rules. "The pick up of new passports by U.S. citizens has been nowhere near the numbers that we would like to see," said Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, secretary general of the CTO. "We recognize that we have an added problem which is that so many people have been so accustomed for so long to waking in the morning and deciding to go to the Caribbean because they didn't need a passport, that there has to be an extensive campaign to let a lot more people know about this new requirement."

Caribbean tourism officials already have launched an educational campaign about the coming U.S. passport requirements. You can find more details in my Caribbean Passport, Visa, and ID Requirements story.