Sinkinson
Howard Walker, Staff Reporter
BRITAIN'S IMPOSITION of visa requirements on Jamaicans, among other factors, has put a damper on travel to that European destination. And airlines and travel agencies are feeling the pinch.
According to them, there has been a significant reduction in the number of passengers travelling to that part of the world. Shirley Lee, manager of Apollo Travel Service, said the majority of her customers are not travelling to the United Kingdom anymore.
"But it has affected business terribly and reduced the number of ticket sales. For some unknown reason I have been receiving a lot of calls from customers inquiring about the possibility that the visa regime will be lifted soon. Obviously someone started the rumour, but it's not true," she said.
David Chin Lee of Chin Yee's Travel Service explained his business and the airlines have been hampered by the new visa requirement system.
"You must expect a fall in business as most travellers in the informal sector who used to just buy a ticket and go, can't anymore. The only thing that is balancing it out is that full plane loads are coming from the UK, therefore they are travelling back," he said.
A security source at the airport said the reduction in passengers travelling to the UK was noticeable.
"One time when these flights are leaving the airport, the place would be busy, now, you don't even notice," he said.
But according to the Communications and Public Relations section of Air Jamaica, "Nothing has really changed. But if there is a decrease in passengers travelling to the UK, it could be because of the war and not necessarily the new visa regime. There is no definite answer why travelling is down."
However, Marcia Erskine, public relations consultant for British Airways, attributed the reduction mainly to the imposition of the visa requirements and the falling value of the Jamaican dollar. International travel has also been reduced in recent times by mainly the war in Iraq and the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) threat.
Nevertheless, Mandy Ivemy, head of the visa section at the British High Commission, said they have received 8,028 applications for (both settlement and non-settlement) visas between January and March, which is far more than the 5,351 for the entire 2002 and 4,173 for 2001. Of that figure 4,799 were issued visas and 2,994 were refused.
She said the level of unsuccessful applications reflected the fact that visas were introduced to deal with large-scale immigration problems posed by a significant number of Jamaican travellers.
"As you can see, the majority of those applying are issued with visas and can plan their trips without worrying about long delays at Heathrow or Gatwick. Before the mandatory visa service, it was not unusual for a person to queue for three to four hours to see an immigration officer. Now the average queuing time is 20 minutes," she said.
In January, the British Government imposed new policies requiring Jamaicans to obtain visas for travelling to the United Kingdom. Deputy British High Commissioner to Jamaica, Phil Sinkinson, was quoted as saying then that the visa policy was implemented to prevent Jamaicans travelling to that country from absconding. In addition, British officials said the visa regime would actually benefit travellers in terms of guarding against the purchase of airline tickets and not getting a chance to visit the country.
