New U.S. passport rule could clobber B.C. tourism

VICTORIA - Tourism Minister Olga Illich is right to be fighting new U.S. border security measures that threaten the tourist industry.
B.C. has run into a nasty alignment of three big tourism problems, all certain to keep American visitors away. Two of the three - painful gas prices and a strong Canadian dollar - are beyond the province's control.
But there is at least hope that B.C., working with the other provinces and U.S. border states, can stall an American plan to make passports mandatory for all travelers. "We've been taking every opportunity to get into their faces and say we're unhappy about this," says Illich.
The new law will mean that a family heading up from Bellingham for a weekend in Vancouver won't be admitted back into the U.S. without passports. Since two out of three Americans don't have a passport, that's a big problem. A family of four is not going to spend $400 on passports just to come to B.C. for a week’s holiday.
And since the U.S. is by far the most important external market for B.C. tourism, providing three out of four foreign visitors.
B.C. has allies. All the provinces and Ottawa are opposing the passport requirement. And because the rule would also apply to Canadians visiting the U.S., most border states have joined the fight, fearing a loss of Canadian visitors.
But time is running out. The rule is set to apply to travelers coming by air and sea - a significant group for Victoria - by the end of next year, and to all travelers by Dec. 31, 2007.
The Canadian Tourism Commission reports that the new rules are already scaring away visitors who are confused about the passport requirement, keeping more than 50,000 potential tourists away from B.C. this year.
The threat comes at a bad time.
American visits to Canada fell to their lowest level in 25 years in August. Visits to B.C. are down 2.9 per cent so far this year.
Soaring gas prices are already taking a toll on tourism. BC Stats estimates that each one-cent increase in gas prices results in the loss of 3,600 same-day and 2,400 overnight visitors a year. American gas prices, pushed up in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, are up 60 cents from a year ago, costing the province some 360,000 visits. The impact is greatest in smaller centres, dependent on car travelers.
A hotel room that cost $90 Canadian would have translated into the bargain rate of $60 U.S. at the beginning of 2003. This month, the same room would have cost an American traveler more than $75 in his own currency. Across the board - meals, attractions - the cost of a break in the Okanagan, or on the Island, is up 25 per cent just because of the exchange rate.
B.C. has just released its submission to the U.S. Homeland Security Department on the passport issue, which reinforces the threat.
The brief warns that convention organizers are already looking at striking B.C. from their list of potential sites because not all delegates will want to get passports.
And the province’s chances of building on the 2010 Olympics to increase tourism and trade would be hurt, B.C.argues in the brief.
It’s hard to judge the chances of success in this campaign. The U.S. last month ignored complains and began requiring many visitors from France and Italy to have a visa because those countries’ passports aren’t considered secure.
But pressure for easing the passport requirement is building within the U.S., and there appears to be some softening in the homeland security position. Security secretary Michael Chertoff says the government is looking at cheaper, easier-to-get - but still secure - ID cards as an alternative. Some states are considering adding more security information to drivers’ licences to make them an acceptable substitute.
It’s a battle worth hundreds of millions of dollars - and thousands of jobs - for British Columbia.
Footnote: The province’s brief warns that damage from the passport regulation will go beydnd tourism. The requirement will clog borders and hurt trade between the two countries, B.C, warns, and make it more difficult for businesses to seize opportunities on the other side of the border. A coalition of U.S. Chambers of Commerce is fighting the change on the same ground.