U.S. visitors visas from the Caribbean are becoming harder to come by for some nations as latest data analyzed by CWNN show a decrease in the number of B1/B2 visas issued in 2008.
In 2008, close to 160,000 visitors visas were issued by local consulates to nationals of CARICOM nations, compared to close to 210,000 in 2007, a decline of over 50,000.
The twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago was hit hard, seeing a huge drop, from 30,805 in 2007, to 26,720 in 2008.
The Dominican Republic was close behind, down from 57,552 in 2007 to 54,266 in 2008.
Antigua & Barbuda also saw a drop off from 2,642 to 2,347 last year as the two countries battled in the World Trade Organization while the Bahamas, decreased from 12,522 in 2007 to 11,045 in 2008. Belize dipped from 4,679 to 4,407 last year while St. Kitts dropped to 1,255.
However, several others countries including Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Guyana and Suriname saw a small rise in their visitors` visa allotment. Haiti`s visitors visas rose from 28,789 in 2007 to 31,852 in 2008 while Cuba saw an uptick to 2,024 from 2,018 in 2007. Guyana and Suriname`s visitor`s visa allotment in 2008 was up 3,671 and 2,603, respectively, from 3,370 and 2,210 in 2007.
The visa decline overall, also meant that fewer Caribbean nationals travelled as non-resident or visitors to the U.S. in 2008, a drop of nine percent.
The US` Office of Travel and Tourism, show that the total number of Caribbean nationals arriving from the region with non-immigrant or visitor’s visas, was 993,209 in 2008, down nine percent from 2007.
During the first ten months of 2008, there was a 14 percent decrease in arrivals from the Dominican Republic, a seven percent decline from Jamaica, and a 33 percent drop from the Bahamas.
Further, none of the top 20 countries generating travel to the U.S., were in the Caribbean. Air arrivals from the Caribbean were also down nine percent for the year 2008.
Source: Caribworldnews.com
