Atlantic Canadian innkeepers have come up with a "passport to savings" plan they hope will keep American visitors coming across the border.
American citizens can offset the costs of having to obtain a passport to visit Canada by receiving a 10 per cent discount when they show the passport at participating accommodation properties in Atlantic Canada.
The Innkeepers Guild wants to be proactive in dealing with the new realities of the world economy, the group's president, Terry Grandy, said Thursday in a news release.
"We identify this to be a major issue, and our members wish to do whatever they can to sustain our tourism trade with our largest travel partner," said Mr. Grandy, who runs the Manor Inn in Yarmouth.
The United States government will require all travellers to and from Canada to have a passport to enter or re-enter the U.S. by January 2008.
The policy applies to air and sea travel by Dec. 31, 2006, and all land border crossings by Dec.31, 2007.
Tourist operators in the region are worried this will discourage Americans from coming to Canada.
The Innkeepers Guild is a trade association of independent accommodation properties in the Atlantic region.