PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Cathy Keefe
202.408.2183
ckeefe@tia.org, www.tia.org

March 23, 2007

TRAVEL INDUSTRY ASKS STATE DEPARTMENT TO ADDRESS GROWING WAIT TIMES FOR U.S. PASSPORTS

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. travel industry today asked officials at the State Department to seek emergency assistance to address surging demand for processing passports.

Anticipating a rise in passport demand due to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), State sought and received new resources, including several hundred new staff positions. Until recently, they had been able to meet passport demand within three to four weeks, but the combination of spring travel and newly imposed document requirements under WHTI has driven up wait times to unacceptable levels – currently 10 weeks and growing.

“We acknowledge the State Department for its work to get ahead of rising demand and successfully securing additional staff and other resources to issue millions more passports,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the Travel Industry Association. “Despite all their good efforts, the industry believes it is now necessary for the State Department to seek assistance to meet passport demand and ensure that business and leisure travelers can make their trips on time,” said Dow.

Understanding the challenge presented by the surging passport demand on the State Department, the U.S. travel industry is growing increasingly concerned about what the future might hold once passports or passport cards are required for land border crossing under WHTI.

“The current increased demand for passports pales in comparison to what lies ahead due to the impending land and sea implementation of WHTI. In one or two years, all Western Hemisphere travelers will need a passport or a passport card to enter or reenter the United States,” said Jonathan M. Tisch, chairman of the Travel Business Roundtable and chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels. “If the U.S. government cannot adequately meet this increase in demand now, travel and trade on both sides of the border face grim consequences in the near future.”

One potential solution in the short-term is to provide more opportunities for private passport companies to service this increased demand with expedited services, which save the State Department time and resources on the front end by preparing passport documentation for the adjudication process by State.

The Travel Industry Association, Travel Business Roundtable and our industry partners are also heartened by today’s announcement by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff concerning a pilot program in the state of Washington that will allow states to issue dual-purpose driver’s licenses for WHTI purposes and help meet the rising border-crossing needs of American citizens. TIA and TBR are committed to help the U.S. Department of State in meeting this surging passport demand.

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The Travel Industry Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the $703 billion travel industry. TIA's mission is to promote and facilitate increased travel to and within the United States. TIA is proud to be a partner in travel with American Express. For more information, visit www.tia.org.

The Travel Business Roundtable (TBR), a strategic partner to the Travel Industry Association, is a CEO-based organization representing all sectors of the travel and tourism industry. TBR’s mission is to educate public officials and policymakers about the important social and economic contributions of the travel and tourism industry. For more information, visit www.tbr.org.

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