DEMARCH DELIVERED: WESTERN HEMISPHERE TRAVEL

UNCLAS KINGSTON 001037

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAR (BENT)
NSC FOR SHANNON
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD AND J7 (RHANNAN)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: JM AADP AMGT CASC CMGT CPAS KPAO KCSY KHLS PGOV PREL CA BD XL XM
SUBJECT: DEMARCH DELIVERED: WESTERN HEMISPHERE TRAVEL
INITIATIVE

REF: STATE 61416


1. Responding to reftel request, Charge on April 5
communicated talking points by telephone to Gilbert Scott,
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Security, and to
Barbara James, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry
Tourism. Both were interested in the issue and appreciated
the advance notice of the impending deadline. Scott
commented that requiring Americans to travel with
machine-readable passports instead of birth certificates
would make it easier for Jamaican immigration officials to
use their newly implemented automated entry/exit system.
James said that she would pass the information along to Aloun
Assamba, Minister of Industry and Tourism.


2. Also on April 5, Poloff conveyed same talking points by
phone and fax to Ann Scott, Caribbean and Americas
Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.
Scott accepted the information and indicated that she would
review the details of the initiative. She also registered
her concern for the impact the initiative would likely have
on Jamaica's important tourism industry. Scott questioned
whether a public campaign would promote the new travel
initiative to U.S. citizens. She offered that this would be
important because it is her impression, based on the number
of tourists who travel to Jamaica each year with only birth
certificates and drivers licenses, that Americans are
generally reluctant to acquire passports, especially compared
with Jamaicans, who commonly use passports as a form of
identification. Scott was initially confused when contacted,
pointing out that the Summit of the Americas is currently
discussing a Western Hemisphere Transport Initiative (WHTI).
TIGHE