Caleb Tiller, 703-684-0836 Ext. 138
Courtney Leigh Beisel, 703-684-0836 Ext. 133
Alexandria, VA (November 1, 2005) -- The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) and the Canadian Alliance of Business Travel each filed official comments yesterday on the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) on behalf of the corporate travel community, urging the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to carefully consider the effects of WHTI on the business community, specifically the large constituency of business travelers who traverse U.S. borders each and every day.
Both groups’ comments, filed in response to CBP’s Advanced Noticed of Proposed Rulemaking, stressed (i) the need for maximum flexibility in determining which documents should be accepted under WHTI for border crossings and (ii) the travel industry’s collective belief that there should be one deadline for all new requirements under WHTI.
“NBTA based its comments on feedback from its members throughout the business travel industry,” said Suzanne Fletcher, NBTA president and CEO. “While business travel professionals strongly support initiatives that strengthen travel and national security, we believe such programs should not create problems for business travelers.”
“In order to minimize the problems business travelers may experience under the new WHTI requirements, we recommend flexibility regarding what documents are accepted for border crossings and education of the public regarding the acceptable documents,” Fletcher continued. “To eliminate the confusion that abounds about the different deadlines associated with different types of border crossings, we propose that the whole program go into effect on December 31, 2007.”
Tanya Racz, President of the Canadian Alliance, said that the organization’s Canadian travel manager members had collectively identified 11,000 business travelers within their companies who frequently cross the Canada-United States border.
“With such a large number of business travelers crossing the border each day, we need to ensure the smooth, secure flow of traffic between our nations,” said Racz.
To read the full comments, click links below (PDF files):
National Business Travel Association comments
Canadian Alliance of Business Travel comments
About the National Business Travel Association
The National Business Travel Association is the source for critical information on the business travel industry. For more than 35 years, NBTA has dedicated itself to the professional development of its members through advocacy, education and training, and networking opportunities. NBTA represents over 2,500 corporate and government travel managers and travel service providers, who collectively manage and direct more than $170 billion of expenditures within the business travel industry. For more on NBTA, visit www.nbta.org.
About the Canadian Alliance of Business Travel
The Canadian Alliance of Business Travel is a not-for-profit Canadian education and research association dedicated to providing an educational environment for corporate travel executives to exchange best practices and collectively foster strategies for success within the business travel industry. We are committed to provide integral benchmarking data and educational exchanges for companies in Canada and abroad. The Canadian Alliance is the Canadian affiliate of the U.S.-based National Business Travel Association.
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