Basseterre (St Kitts), March 22 (IANS) St Kitts & Nevis Prime Minister Denzil Douglas has described the Caribbean Community's (CARICOM) visa policy for the cricket World Cup as a success, though he admits it might have turned off some potential visitors to the region.

'At first when we did put the visa framework in place we were very concerned with the immediate reaction especially from our own people, the stakeholders in the tourist industry in the Caribbean,' Douglas told a media conference at Warner Park Tuesday.

'But as we improved on the facilitation in granting these visas, as we employed modern technology and we were able at the end to provide visas in a matter of 24-36 hours, I believe the problems we have envisaged in the earlier part of the establishment of the framework they have disappeared.

'I believe that a number of people who may have come to the Caribbean otherwise, not for cricket specially, might have been turned off slightly but those who were really coming to the Caribbean for the game they did come because we did facilitate them in a very speedy way in granting the visas,' he said, according to the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

The CARICOM special visa took effect from Feb 1 this year and will be enforced until May 15.~~adz:Right~~

Holders of the special visa will be allowed to move freely between the nine host countries without having to endure the standard immigration procedures at the respective ports of entry.

Douglas said the arrangement was to ensure security and safety of teams and the visitors coming to the Caribbean for the mega event.

'I think that you have to understand that this part of the world has been observed by those (bigger countries) to be somewhat easy to move through, very vulnerable,' Douglas explained.

'We have to make sure that in playing host to the teams who were coming here from countries abroad who might have had problems in terms of the politics of international concerns, they wanted to make sure that we prepared a very safe and secure Caribbean for their entrance here.

'It is to that extent that we did put in place the visa requirements to control the flow of people and to maximize the security arrangements for the team visiting us here.'