TALLINN'S BFIF FY09 REPORT

UNCLAS TALLINN 000187 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EEB/CBA EEB/CIP AND EUR/NB HELSINKI FOR SCO MCCLEARY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ETRD BEXP ABUD AFIN BTIO EINV EN SUBJECT: TALLINN'S BFIF FY09 REPORT REF: STATE 032063; STATE 71530 ¶1. (U) Summary: Embassy Tallinn received USD 3,090 from the Business Facilitation Incentive Fund (BFIF) to send our Economic/Commercial Assistant to the Pow Wow trade fair and training in Miami on May 15-May 21. Post used 3,036.34 USD for the project. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Post initiated in 2008 the establishing of a Discover America (DA) Committee under the umbrella of the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) in Estonia. DA is a volunteer organization, recognized by the U.S. Travel Industry Association (TIA) of local travel- related businesses interested in promoting the U.S. market. One of its the first steps was to take some of the DA Estonia member companies to the TIA annual trade fair (Pow Wow) in Miami this year to facilitate contacts within the industry and to get contacts in TIA for official recognition of the Estonian DA Committee. ¶3. (U) Tallinn's Economic/Commercial Assistant accompanied two DA Estonia Committee members to Miami and facilitated meetings with TIA, other European DA Committees, and industry representatives. Post's Economic/Commercial Assistant also had one day of training with the FCS Tourism and Travel Team. After Pow Wow, the Assistant gave presentations, together with two other DA members, to the rest of DA Estonia about the U.S. travel market, new visa waiver laws and regulations. As a result, the DA Committee in Estonia decided it will organize a seminar for local travel agents on target destinations in the United States. The date for this event is October 23rd and there is an agreement from the regional representative in Europe to come and educate local travel agents on several top U.S. destinations. The Economic/Commercial Assistant has also contacted FCS St. Petersburg, Russia and Amchams in Latvia and Lithuania for possible cooperation. The DA Estonia Committee is in the process of submitting all necessary documentation to get official recognition from TIA. ¶4. (SBU) Breakdown of expenses: USD 1,153.41 trade fair fee including lodging during the trade fair and some meals USD 71.00 lodging extra night for FSN training USD 362.50 M&IE USD 1,449.43 airfare and insurance Total USD 3,036.34 ¶5. (U) Back-up documentation on expenditures will be faxed to Gale Gray, EEB/EX. ¶6. (U) Point of Contact at Post: Economic Officer Robert Hollister, ph: +372-668-8107, hollisterrm@state.gov. Post appreciates the support of EEB/CBA and EEB/EX for these projects. DECKER