COUNTRY CLEARANCE GRANTED FOR LAGUNA AND DEMOVIC TO TRAVEL

UNCLAS BRIDGETOWN 001105

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CAR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAIR OTRA ST
SUBJECT: COUNTRY CLEARANCE GRANTED FOR LAGUNA AND DEMOVIC TO TRAVEL
TO ST. VINCENT, SEPT. 8-21, 2007

REF: 291551Z AUG 07


1. Embassy Bridgetown warmly welcomes and grants country clearance
to Diana Marie Laguna and Charles Demovic, TSA Transportation
Security Specialists, for travel to St. Vincent from September 8-21,

2007. The purpose of this visit is to provide an International
Civil Aviation Crisis Management training program in conjunction
with and financed by the General Secretariat of the Organization of
American States.


2. Embassy point of contact is Economic Officer Anthony Eterno,
tel. 1-246-227-4282, fax 1-246-227-4174. Embassy Bridgetown requests
an outbrief to be provided to the Political/Economic section
relating to activities while in the region within 10 working days of
completion of travel. Please provide the outbrief by telephone or
by fax.


3. Per reftel, Embassy understands that further assistance in not
required. Both travelers will stay at Villa Lodge Hotel, tel:
784/458-4641.


4. Post's resources do not allow us the flexibility to meet and
assist visitors at the airport. Per diem rates are as follows:
Lodging is USD107, and M&IE US89. Currency Exchange rate is XCD2.70
to 1 USD. Departure Tax is XCD30.00 or USD11.00.


5. Entry requirements: A valid U.S. passport is required to enter
St. Vincent. No visa is required if your stay is under six months,
including those travelers arriving with diplomatic or official
passports.


6. Restrictions: The laws of Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, St.
Lucia, Grenada, Dominica, and St. Kitts and Nevis prohibit
non-military personnel from wearing any articles of camouflage
clothing. Immigration officers in these countries randomly check
visitor's baggage on arrival at the airport; if items of restriction
are found, you will be asked to surrender them to the officers.


7. ICASS TDY Policy: Each visitor, regardless of length of stay,
must bring/forward fiscal data to pay for direct costs of the visit.
Each agency, organization or visiting delegation will be charged
for the actual costs attributed to its visit. Direct charge costs
include, but are not limited to: airport transportation and
expediting; driving services; American and LES overtime (for such
services as airport expediting, cashier accommodation exchange,
control room staffing, representational event support); travel and
per diem costs incurred by post personnel in support of visitor's
field travel; rental of vehicles and other equipment; long distance
telephone calls; office supplies, procurement/small purchasing;
departure tax and other airport fees. Post will not provide service
if fiscal data is not provided for the direct charges.

For TDYers remaining at post over 30 days, there is a charge for
ICASS support services. This charge is for the following ICASS
services: Basic Package, CLO and Health Services. Agencies will
not be billed until the accumulated invoice cost for TDY support
exceeds $2,500 for the fiscal year. If your sponsoring agency is
not signed up for ICASS services at post, please be prepared to sign
a Memorandum of Understanding for ICASS support services upon
arrival. The agency should provide post with a written
communication, generated by the traveler's headquarters, that
confirms the agency will pay ICASS charges for the TDYer, provides
the agency ICASS billing code to which the TDY support charges
should be applied, and authorizes the traveler to sign the ICASS
invoice generated by the TDY module. Where travel is urgent, the
TDYer should bring this documentation with him/her to ensure there
are no interruptions in the provision of service. Post will not
provide any service to a TDYer staying in excess of thirty days
without provision of this documentation before day 31 of the TDY."


8. The following is general information pertaining to security and
health considerations throughout the Eastern Caribbean:

Security
--------------
In the Eastern Caribbean, foot travel outside ofQll-established
tourist areas is not generally recommended, especially at night. Be
vigilant when using public telephones or ATM machines near roadsides
or quiet areas. As in many U.S. metropolitan areas, wearing
expensive jewelry, carrying expensive objects, or carrying large
amounts of cash should be avoided. Visitors should also safeguard
valuables while at the beach. While hotels are generally safe, many
visitors have experienced loss of unattended items. Hotel
burglaries are not uncommon and all valuables should be locked in
room safes if possible.

Health Information
--------------

Throughout the Eastern Caribbean, the most likely threat to a
visitor's health is sunburn. It takes several weeks to become
accustomed to the heat and humidity. Prolonged exposure to the sun,
without protection, causes sunburn and may ultimately result in
sun-damaged skin or even skin cancer. Sunscreens should be used for
protection. In Barbados, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent the major
health threat is dengue fever, transmitted by mosquito. Dengue
cases are most often seen in the summer months. Persons should
therefore protect themselves with insect repellant. There is also a
growing number of HIV/AIDS cases reported. The Eastern Caribbean
enjoys clean and safe drinking water. Only routine boosters for
immunizations (i.e. tetanus, diphtheria, and oral polio vaccine) are
required when traveling to this region. Barbados has the best
medical facilities of all the islands in the region and most of the
medical specialties have practitioners here.

FISHER