EDITORIAL - Wooing friends from afar

The lifting of visa restrictions for Chinese tourists, which the Government announced earlier this week, has been wholeheartedly endorsed by the Opposition. This is something both sides of the aisle have agreed is good for Jamaica. So pleased is the Opposition with this potentially smart move to attract more visitors to the island, it has suggested that tourists from the entire Eastern bloc be given visa-free access as well.

There is plenty evidence that the Jamaica-China bilateral relationship is growing at a tremendous pace. It seems like a safe bet then that with China's outreach to Jamaica getting stronger, the country may get a bigger slice of China's more than 45 million tourists. Last year, a mere 2,000 Chinese visitors were recorded. But according to Tourism Minister Wykeham McNeill, the hassle in acquiring a Jamaican visa in Beijing could be the reason for them slighting our resorts. Now that visa restrictions have been removed, it is anticipated that loads of Chinese tourists will flock the island.

It is useful at this point to examine why visa barriers are erected in the first place. Matters of national security rank high in the decision to require visas for travellers. The process is supposed to help to flush out undesirables and protect the national interest. Eliminating persons who are likely to overstay their time is also another reason for visa restrictions.

Benefit to tourism industry

But there is also an economic side to the visa issue. The cost of visa processing is usually high. These funds help to defray the administrative expenses involved in carrying out consular activities. But anticipating the potential benefit to the tourism industry, it may be justified in giving up visa earnings. However, that argument has not been made, so perhaps the foreign exchange earned by Jamaica's missions overseas is minuscule.

Indeed, what some smart countries do is issue tourist visas at the port of entry. So while they have removed the hassle involved in acquiring visas in the home country, visitors travel to their destination and are processed on arrival, at the same time paying for their visas.

Nowadays, some tourists are even able to purchase visas online. And EU countries who are signatories to the Schengen pact routinely issue single-entry, short-term tourist visas valid for specific travel dates. And they are very expensive.

The point to be noted is that easy, efficient processes do not have to all together eliminate the money-making potential for visas.

Any discussion about visas must also address the question of reciprocity. The strength of reciprocity arguments has much to do with how a country is perceived in the eyes of the world community. Jamaicans, notorious for violating visa privileges by overstaying their time and those who perpetuate antisocial behaviour, have contributed to the Jamaican passport becoming one of the least attractive in recent times.

The international law firm Henley& Partner has been compiling an annual Visa Restriction Global Ranking in recent years. Predictably, the best citizenships for visa-free travel are in Europe, with North America, Australia and New Zealand not far behind. The study divides the world into 223 countries and territories. St Kitts and Nevis, whose citizens have visa-free travel to more than 120 countries, and Dominica, are the only countries in our part of the world within the top 100.

Even within CARICOM, Jamaicans have to overcome unnecessary hurdles to avail themselves of visa-free travel. Horror stories of how Jamaicans are treated at some of these airports are well documented. Our nationals are consistently harassed at some ports of entry and often humiliated and refused entry.

Many would argue that while the Government is busy facilitating visa-free travel for the rest of the world, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs needs to seek similar success on behalf of its citizens. Tourist travel is not a one-way street. Jamaicans are known to be avid travellers. They, too, would like to enjoy the ease of visa-free travel in search of social and cultural contacts and other linkages.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.