President Ali blasts visa barriers, says Caribbean cannot build tourism with ‘stone age’ system

(Kaieteur News) – President Irfaan Ali on Wednesday criticised visa barriers facing Caribbean travellers, noting that visa and biometric requirements are undermining tourism, regional connectivity and the hosting of international conferences.

Speaking at the State of the Tourism Industry Conference 2026 (SOTIC), held at the Atlantic Suites by Hyatt in Georgetown, President Ali compared the Caribbean’s travel connectivity with that of other regions, particularly the Middle East and Europe.

President Irfaan Ali

He pointed to the availability of electronic visas in the Middle East, pointing out that the Caribbean and its international partners must modernise how visitors access the region.

“The European Union is still backward in this region. We have to travel to Trinidad and Suriname to get biometrics to do it.”

The Guyanese leader said the requirement for travellers to spend several days completing visa procedures makes it difficult to build tourism partnerships and attract visitors to major international events.

“In a day of digitisation in AI, we have the EU that is operating from a stone age kind of operation, and they’re our friends. We can tell them frankly, but it’s the truth,” he said.

“We can’t have people have to go two days and three days. We can’t build partnership and friendship like that, where people gotta spend four days to get a visa before they travel to your country,” the president added.

He said the issue becomes even more significant when countries seek to host international conferences and other major events.

He addressed the practicality of inviting people to conferences while requiring them to spend several days securing a visa before they can travel.

The president said modern technology should allow authorities to verify a traveller’s identity and background quickly, rather than relying on lengthy processes.

He told delegates that the region must decide whether it is prepared to take bold steps to improve connectivity or remain on the defensive.

Ali also stressed the need for Caribbean countries to determine together which major international events they want to attract, stating that regional cooperation is critical to making that possible.

Using the Middle East as an example, he pointed to the ease of movement between countries across a wider regional network, including Greece, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China and the Philippines, as well as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states such as Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

“That entire circuit flights almost every hour, between one hour flight to two and a half, three hours,” he said.

The president said such connectivity was not accidental, but the result of countries investing in infrastructure and building an ecosystem that allows travel, business and tourism.

Source: Kaieteur News