The Bahamas government has expressed concern about tourism challenges from the new passport rules.


The new Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) requires US citizens have a passport when they travel overseas to the Bahamas, to facilitate reentry to the United States. This is probably a homeland security precaution, but the PM of the Bahamas has expressed concern that it may be creating a leveling of the competitive framework:

“Erosion of this advantage when coupled with the introduction of low-cost, low fare airlift provided by carriers like Jet Blue and Spirit Airlines makes the wider Caribbean much more accessible and affordable to the US consumer,” he said.

Competitiveness is not just an issue for the Bahamas but concerns the Caribbean nations in general, particularly as air fares make various destinations equally compelling. The PM warned that past economic success was no guarantee of future economic success, and that it would be a mistake to be “ostriches.” According to his remarks, the Bahamian economy chose to focus on tourism and in financial services rather than in merchandise and it will take strategic thinking to keep these domains competitive in a changing market. Regional neighbors dominated by tourism and financial services industries are no doubt thinking along similar lines.

From the Bahamas to Barbados to St. Lucia and beyond, all are impacted by the forces of globalization, and the increasing ease and speed of travel and communication. Markets that once enjoyed primacy or relative isolation are now being juxtaposed against a variety of additional economic competitors, and new strategic thinking is required to keep pace with the changing global economic environment.

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The Law Offices of Michael H. Cohen offers corporate legal services, litigation consultation, and expertise in health law with a unique focus on holistic, alternative, complementary, and integrative medical therapies. The law firm represents medical doctors, allied health professionals (from psychologists to nurses and dentists) and other clinicians (from chiropractors to naturopathic physicians, massage therapists, and acupuncturists), entrepreneurs, hospitals, and educational organizations, health care institutions, and individuals and corporations.

Michael H. Cohen is Principal in Law Offices of Michael H. Cohen and also President of a nonprofit organization exploring legal, regulatory, ethical, and health policy issues in the judicious integration of complementary and alternative medical therapies (such as acupuncture and traditional oriental medicine, chiropractic, naturopathic medicine, homeopathy, massage therapy, energy healing, and herbal medicine) and conventional clinical care. Michael H. Cohen is author of books on health care law, regulation, ethics and policy dealing with complementary, alternative and integrative medicine, including Healing at the Borderland of Medicine and Religion, Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Legal Boundaries and Regulatory Perspectives (1998), Beyond Complementary Medicine: Legal and Ethical Perspectives on Health Care and Human Evolution (2000), and Future Medicine: Ethical Dilemmas, Regulatory Challenges, and Therapeutic Pathways to Health Care and Healing in Human Transformation (2003).

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Health care and corporate lawyer Michael H. Cohen has been admitted to the Bar of California, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington D.C. In addition to qualifying as a U.S. attorney, he has been admitted and to the Bar of England and Wales as a Solicitor (non-practicing). For more information regarding the law practice of attorney Michael H. Cohen, see the FAQs for the Law Offices of Michael H. Cohen. Thank you for visiting the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Law Blog.

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