Bahamas

April 2008 | Risk Summary

Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham met US President George Bush in Washington in March; while the meeting served to underline good bilateral relations, Ingraham raised a number of concerns over tourism flows and the impact of the US economic slowdown. He noted that Washington's Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WTHI), introduced primarily for security reasons, has had a negative impact on tourism on the Caribbean in that it requires all US citizens travelling to Canada, Mexico, and Caribbean to have valid passports or travel documents for re-entry. Ingraham expressed concern over the potential impact of the US sub-prime financial crisis on the Caribbean economy and banking industry. The vast majority of tourist visitors to the Bahamas - around 80% - come from the US.

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