Tourism Triangle

TOGETHER with Jimmy Morales , president of Guatemala , and Salvador Sánchez Cerén, president of El Salvador , Juan Orlando Hernández, president of Honduras , announced, the inclusion of El Salvador in the Customs Union of the Northern Triangle. The three countries cover an area of ​​more than 77,000 square miles and represent about 60 percent of the Central American population.

This integrated economic bloc will promote free movement of people and goods between the three countries while creating jobs that increase trade opportunities, improve regional security and facilitate the conditions for tourism. The three countries cover an area of ​​more than 77,000 square miles and represent about 60 percent of the Central American population.

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New Customs Facility in Kona Opens the Skies to International Flights

IN  a statement issued by George D. Szigeti, president and CEO of the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA) it was announced that a new Federal Inspection Service facility is opening at Kona International Airport at Keahole on the island of #Hawaii to welcome passengers of international flights.

He went on to say that "“The convenience of having a new customs facility in Kona is a huge achievement for our #tourism industry and makes Hawai‘i a more attractive destination to international travelers as we enter 2017. Hawai‘i’s success hinges on air access meeting demand and the more route options our state can offer airlines serving international customers, the more it strengthens our tourism industry for the long term. 

“Destinations worldwide are working hard to entice global travelers and Hawai‘i needs every advantage to stay competitive. This new customs facility and the capability it provides for airlines to fly directly to Kona from any international gateway city enhances Hawai‘i’s appeal as a travel destination.

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Picture Credit:Edmund Garman flickr.com/photos/40315625@N08/12800393415 Maui Waterfall via photopin.

Australian airports to charge for fast-track immigration

AUSTRALIAN airports will introduce fast track immigration and customs processing for international travellers … for a fee. 

The proposal was outlined in the federal government’s budget, and will be initially available at airports in Perth, Sydney, and Melbourne.

 The government did not disclose how much it expects to raise through this 'premium' service 'due to commercial confidentiality.'

#Australia's Immigration minister Peter Dutton said passengers would still go through the standard customs, immigration, and security screenings. The ministry also said there would be no impact on wait times for passengers using standard lines.

 ‘What we have to do is look around at our competitors in the region and elsewhere and understand that some of our most important growth markets, for example China, there is a portion that would like to be able to access premium processing,’  said Margy Osmond, head of the Tourism and Transport Forum. ‘It's no different to an airplane having economy, business and first class.’

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Brush up your English, Russian airport staff told

#RUSSIA wants its customs and immigration staff at airports to brush up their English as part of a drive to boost the country’s tourist sector. It’s believed that foreign tourists find delays at airport immigration desks and the lack of English-language signs frustrating. 

Rimma Sachunova at the St. Petersburg Committee on Tourism Development says there is no excuse for customs staff to not know English. Ms Sachunova also said that efforts to include the English language in the city’s road and Metro signage were already underway.

‘We are working at ensuring that there is more signage in English in St. Petersburg. In fact, St. Petersburg is the only city in Russia that has English signage in all of its Metro stations,’ she said.

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US entry scheme expansion could shorten clearance times

REGULAR travellers to the #US could see dramatically shorter processing times upon entry with the expansion of its #GlobalEntry scheme. 

US Customs and Border Protection commissioner, Gil Kerlikowske, and the director- general of the UK Border Force, Sir Charles Montgomery, announced the plans at the World Travel Market in London.

Global Entry allows for faster clearance of ‘pre-approved, low-risk travellers’. The average processing time at a Global Entry kiosk is one minute.

Preceding the announcement, US ambassador in London, Matthew Barzun, cited the ‘infuriation’ of UK travellers over processing times when they arrive in the US. He said 125,000 UK citizens travel to the US four or more times each year.

Sir Charles said: ‘The expansion of the Global Entry service to British citizens is a testament to the close collaboration between our two countries. We have a mutual interest in operating safe and secure border controls, where legitimate, low-risk travellers are offered excellent levels of customer service.’

Global Entry is currently available at 46 US airports and 13 'preclearance' locations. To register, UK citizens apply through the Home Office website and pay a £42 processing fee. If the applicant passes the UK vetting process they will receive an access code to enter when applying for Global Entry through the Global Online Enrolment System (GOES). Once the application is approved, an interview is scheduled with a Customs and Border Protection officer to assess eligibility. 

The fee for a five-year membership is $100 (£65). UK citizens can register for the scheme from December 3.

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Will your face fit at Orlando Airport?

#ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT has upgraded its automated passport control (APC) kiosks to include facial recognition for arriving passengers. The technology is required by US Customs and Border Protection department (CBP), which says the kiosks must authenticate identity by matching people’s faces to the biometric record in their e-passport. 

APC kiosks have become a regular feature at US airports over the past year; more than 300 have been installed at ten airports, and hundreds more are on order.

The kiosks are made by SITA, whose president, Paul Houghton, says: ‘More and more, passengers arriving in the USA have the opportunity to use automated kiosks to make their way through the customs and immigration checks. These kiosks are a welcome addition to arrival areas and have helped reduce lines by as much as 40%.

‘Now, there is added security as the CBP requires facial biometrics to be matched to the e-passport being presented. Almost 500 million e-passports have been issued globally; these hold facial biometrics while some also contain fingerprints. Our SITA APC kiosks comply with all the latest requirements and help bolster more efficient security checks at the airports.’

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/44124348109@N01/6866541534">Fraunhofer Face Finder</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)

Up in the air …

MANCHESTER AIRPORT and Heathrow have been shortlisted by the US Department of Homeland Security as priority airports to have US security pre-clearance.

Pre-clearance, which allows passengers to clear immigration, customs, and agricultural inspection by US Customs and Border Protection before boarding their flight, means that passengers can avoid waiting in often lengthy queues after landing in the US.

International flights which have been pre-cleared can use domestic terminals at US airports, meaning passengers connecting onto onward domestic flights can do so with shorter transfer times than those who have not been pre-cleared.

Only two other airports in Europe – Dublin and Shannon – allow for pre-clearance.

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