FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
North America: Marina Velikova, +1-703-684-0836 Ext. 132, mvelikova@nbta.org
Europe: Gerd Otto-Rieke, +49- 89-15090842
The Paragon Partnership Urges Biometric Passport Extension for Visa Waiver Countries
Corporate Travel Alliance Stresses Importance of International Travel
Frankfurt, Germany (April 14, 2005) -- The Paragon Partnership, the global alliance of business travel associations, supports the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) in its efforts to fight unfair travel restrictions resulting from the current deadline for countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). According to the policies of the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), all citizens of VWP countries who wish to enter the United States without a visa have to present a passport with imbedded biometric information beginning October 26, 2005. Currently, however, most VWP countries believe they will not be able to begin issuing biometric passports until 2006.
In a meeting in Frankfurt, Germany on April 12, Paragon delegates of nine countries and regions worldwide stressed that unrestricted travel is crucial to the world economy. The Paragon delegates urged NBTA to continue to lobby for an extension of the deadline.
VDR, the Business Travel Association of Germany, warned as early as August 2004 that German authorities will not be able to start issuing the required passports before late fall this year.
“If the deadline is not moved, unnecessary irritation and travel disruption is clearly predictable,” said VDR President Michael Kirnberger.
The current members of the Paragon Partnership are as follows:
Brazilian Business Travel Association (ABGEV)
Australasian Business Travel Association (ABTA)
Austrian Business Travel Association (ABTA-Austria)
The French Business Travel Association (AFCV)
Canadian Business Travel Association (CBTA)
Danish Business Travel Association (DBTA)
Finnish Business Travel Association (FBTA)
Iberian Business Travel Association (IBTA)
National Business Travel Association (NBTA) USA
Netherlands Association for Travelmanagement (NATM)
Swedish Business Travel Association (SBTA)
The Business Travel Association of Germany (VDR)
The Paragon Partnership is the global alliance of business travel associations including buyer-led business travel industry organizations worldwide. Together, the Paragon Partners represent about 4,000 business travel buyers and suppliers. Members of the Paragon Partner associations manage and direct more than $187 billion USD, which translates to more than €143 billion. For more information, see www.paragon-partnership.org.