Some still pass on passport
A new passport rule goes into effect today for Americans -- they'll need a passport from now on to travel to Canada or Mexico. But Jeremy Hobson reports that some people still need to get their hands on one.
U.S. passport (Getty Images)
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TEXT OF STORY
Scott Jagow: If you're flying to Canada or Mexico anytime soon, remember, you'll need to take your passport if you wanna get back into the country. Those new passport rules take effect today. Jeremy Hobson has more.
Jeremy Hobson: Travelers on flights this morning from Montreal to Boston -- or Mexico City to Miami -- will need their passports to get back into the U.S.
And many people are prepared. Passport requests are up 30 percent this year. But some don't want to pay around 100 bucks, or wait eight weeks for a passport. And that could spell trouble for the tourism markets in Mexico, the Caribbean and Canada.
Mexico says 30 percent of the Americans who come by plane don't have a passport. And as for Canada, here's Will Harding with the Canadian Tourism Commission:
Will Harding: The U.S. is our most important international tourism market. They account for roughly about 77 percent of the total international visitor volume Canada welcomes every year.
But many Americans visiting Canada don't fly there, and they won't need a passport just yet. Rules for land and sea travel go into effect next year.
In Washington, I'm Jeremy Hobson for Marketplace
