‘Huge Tsunami Of Passport Applications Is Coming,’ State Dept. Warns Travel Agents
by Cheryl Rosen /In an age of terrorism, natural disasters and other calamities, the State Department is urging travelers and travel agents to turn to its dedicated website and join the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).
Travel.state.gov offers up-to-date information on travel to countries around the world, Karen Christensen, deputy assistant secretary of overseas citizen services, told agents attending the ASTA Global Convention in Reno on Monday. “We hope it’s the first place your travelers go, and that you go as well to look for information about planning travel and assessing risks."
Christensen cautioned that the State Department “is expecting a huge tsunami of passport applications” in the coming year.
She called on travel agents to advise their clients to apply as soon as possible if their passports are expiring. “Make sure there are two blank pages in their passports, and six months before the passport expires, as more and more countries are requiring that.”
Indeed, she noted, a passport problem “is the kind of disruption to a dream vacation that travel agents can help clients avoid.”
Importance of travel insurance
Christensen also said that many travelers mistakenly believe their credit cards cover their travel insurance needs, when that is not the case.
Travel agents should ask customers about any health issues and even potentially dangerous sports in which they will be indulging, and suggest travel insurance that meets their unique needs, she advised. For scuba divers, for example, insurance that covers a hyperbaric chamber is perhaps most important.
An emergency medical evacuation can run as much as $120,000. In an emergency, she said, she has seen travelers with insurance being whisked away from danger while those without it were left to fend for themselves.