Canadian confusion or a passport faux pas - Flying With Kaleel Sakakeeny

The U.S. can’t seem to get it right when it comes to making up its mind about ID requirements for travel to and from Canada. Doesn’t matter. The damage is done.

Canadian tourism officials report significantly decreasing numbers of tourists because of the uncertainty about what documents are required for border crossings, and Ontario Tourism Minister Jim Bradley predicts a further loss of millions of dollars.

Convention planners, for one, are reluctant to book meetings without knowing what any identification plan will be implemented, or what it will cost. And if passports are required, at $97 a pop, a family of four would be adding almost $400 to their trip to Canada.

“Americans are confused, and the uncertainty in the marketplace is killing us, “ said Randy Williams of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.

Today, Americans only need to show a driver's license or birth certificate for travel to and from Canada, but by 2008, visitors will need a passport or some form of identification, which is being developed by the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.

The most obvious solution to a security problem that probably didn’t exist in the first place is to standardize and upgrade existing drivers’ licenses.

We wonder why the Government doesn’t get it.

Kaleel Sakakeeny is a national print and broadcast travel journalist. Read more of his work at www.gotravelupdates.com.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not reflect the views of Cheap Flight News