VZCZCXYZ0010
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHWN #1358/01 2981956
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 251956Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO RUEHSJ/AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE 0934
INFO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5685

UNCLAS BRIDGETOWN 001358 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC FOR MDRO 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: AMGT EAID ASEC OTRA CS BB
SUBJECT:  COUNTRY CLEARANCE FOR CARRILLO November 5- 
10, 2007. 
 
REF: SAN JOSE 01846 
 
¶1.  Embassy Bridgetown warmly welcomes and grants 
country clearance for OFDA Regional Advisor Rene 
Carrillo to travel to Bridgetown, O/A November 5-10, 
¶2007. The purpose of the visit is to attend Risk 
Reduction Course. 
 
¶2.  Embassy point of contact is James Goggin, USAID 
Representative, tel. 1-246-227-4118, cell. 1-246-243- 
1499, fax. 1-246-228-8589. 
 
¶3.  No Mission support is requested. 
 
¶4.  Post?s resources do not allow us the flexibility 
to meet and assist visitors at the airport.  However, 
Barbadian Customs and Immigration are visitor- 
friendly.    The exchange rate is approximately 2.02 
Barbados Dollars for 1 U.S. Dollar.  You should bring 
enough U.S. Dollar bills to pay the taxi.  U.S. 
currency, traveler?s checks, and credit cards are 
routinely and widely accepted here. 
 
¶5.  Entry requirements:  A valid U.S. passport is 
required to enter Barbados.  No visa is required if 
your stay is under six months, including those 
travelers arriving with diplomatic or official 
passports.  For further information, travelers may 
contact the Embassy of Barbados, 2144 Wyoming Avenue 
N.W., Washington D.C. 20008, tel. 1-202-939-9200. 
 
¶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.  Departure tax for Barbados is BDS$60 or USD$30. 
 
¶8.  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. 
 
¶9.  The following is general information pertaining to 
security and health considerations throughout the 
Eastern Caribbean: 
 
Security 
-------- 
In the Eastern Caribbean, foot travel outside of well- 
 
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. 
 
OURISMAN