GENERAL INFORMATION

• Hotel Reservations
• Meeting Registration Information
• Driving
• Cell Phones
• Currency
• Electricity
• Time Zones
• Entry Requirements
• Customs Departure
• More Information

Hotel Reservations

• To reserve your hotel room, please phone the hotel directly at 1-877-OUR-LUCAYA (687-5822). Identify yourself as with Foundations and you will be given our convention rates.
• Room rates are $155 for single/double superior; $175 for single/double deluxe, $195 for single/double luxury. All room rates are subject to local sales and occupancy tax and resort fee.
• Most rooms are in the Breakers Cay/Lighthouse Pointe with a few available in the Reef Village.
• Reservations received after October 5, 2002 will be confirmed on a space-available basis only.

Meeting Registration Information

• Complete all forms appropriate to you, using only one form for yourself and your spouse. Please use the checklist provided on each form to make sure you have filled it in completely and accurately.
• Fees must be paid in U.S. dollars, with no discounts given for attending only part of Foundations.
• It is important that you indicate on the back side of the registration form all functions you and/or your spouse will attend, including optional events.
• Determine the amount due for registration fees and for separately charged optional events. Issue one check covering all registration fees and optional events and be sure to include the check with your registration form.
• Forms must be accompanied by payment and mailed to: Foundations, Building C, Suite 312, 800 Roosevelt Road, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137; (630) 545-9415. Registration by credit card may be faxed to 630-790-3095.
• Cancellations: Cancellations of conference registrations are acceptable upon written notice. Refunds will be as follows: letter postmarked on or before October 1 - full refund; postmarked October 1 to October 17 - 50% refund; postmarked after October 17 - NO REFUND.
• Special Rules: It is policy of CTDA and NTCA that no one shall schedule or conduct any event, function, or meeting which in any way conflicts with or detracts from scheduled CTDA or NTCA meetings or events. It is also customary that hospitality suites not be scheduled at any time conflicting with CTDA or NTCA functions. Only manufacturer sponsors may host breakfasts on Friday and Saturday.

Driving

• British rules apply, so please drive on the left and watch those roundabouts! Visitors may use their home licenses for up to three months and may also apply for an international driver's license. Pedestrians should remember to look right before crossing streets.

Cell Phones

• The Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation (BaTelCo) has automatic roaming agreements with many cellular carriers in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
• If your home carrier has a roaming agreement with BaTelCo and your cellular number is active in The Islands Of The Bahamas, you can enjoy cellular service. Simply ensure that your phone is switched to system B and dial away!
• To place a call, dial 7 digits for local calls and 10 digits for calls to the United States and Canada.
• To receive a call, the caller must dial BaTelCo's access code (242-359-7626), wait for the second dial tone and dial the roamer's cellular number including the area code.
• Billing is a breeze...There are no activation fees for Roaming in The Bahamas and you will be billed via your home carrier at a rate of $3.00 per day and $0.99 per minute (plus toll charges for long distance calls).
• Note: Roaming agreements are subject to change without notice. Additionally, a carrier may have a Roaming agreement with BaTelCo but opt to disallow Roaming in The Bahamas for some of their markets.

Currency

• The legal tender is the Bahamian dollar (B$1), which is equivalent in value to the U.S. dollar. Both U.S. and Bahamian dollars are accepted interchangeably throughout the islands.

Electricity

• Electricity is normally 120 volts AC. American appliances are fully compatible.

Time Zone

• Eastern Standard Time is used on all islands. April to October is Eastern Daylight Time, in conjunction with U.S. summer hours.

Entry Requirements

• For visitors, entry requirements differ slightly depending upon place of birth, length of stay and what items accompany the traveller.
• U.S. and Canadian citizens entering The Islands Of The Bahamas as visitors are required to show proof of citizenship with either a passport (current or expired within five years) or two forms of identification, one of which has to have a photo. For example, you may bring a notarized birth certificate and a driver’s licence. Upon your arrival to The Islands Of The Bahamas, you will be asked to fill out an Immigration Arrival/Departure Card, which you will keep part of until your departure.
• All visitors are required to be in possession of a return ticket. U.S. visitors staying for eight months or less need a return ticket plus a passport (passports expired up to five years may also be used) or a certified birth certificate with an official photo identification.
• British subjects from the United Kingdom and colonies may enter The Islands Of The Bahamas as visitors without passports or visas for periods not exceeding three weeks. For longer stays they must present a passport.

Customs Departure

• It’s a good idea to set aside B$18.00 to cover the departure tax. Children under the age of six are exempt from this tax. You may substitute United States dollars for Bahamian dollars since American currency is accepted everywhere and the exchange rate is the same.
• If you are a United States citizen returning to America on a regularly scheduled airline, you will be pre-cleared through U.S. Customs and Immigration before your departure from Freeport International Airports. This means you do not have to go through customs once you enter the United States.
• It’s hard to resist the temptation of duty-free shopping on Grand Bahama Island. The Bahamian government has exempted import tariffs on eleven categories of products — perfume, tobacco, watches, jewellery, china, crystal, linens, sweaters, photographic equipment, leather goods and liquor — making the local markets a popular place for bargain shoppers. With the duty-free policy, there is no sales tax or import tax and visitors can take merchandise back to the U.S. under their $600-per-person U.S. Customs exemption.
• To know if a store is a duty-free shop, simply look for the duty-free logo — DFS.
• Whether you clear U.S. Customs in Freeport or the United States, the duty-free allowance is $600. (The allowance is $400 for travel to other countries.) In other words, United States residents (including minors) may take home newly acquired items with a retail value up to $600 if they have been out of the United States for more than 48 hours and have not taken the exemption in 30 days. The exemption may include up to one U.S. quart (32 U.S. oz.) of liquor per person over 21. If a family is from the same household, they are permitted to pool their exemptions.
• If, as an individual, you exceed the $600 exemption (or if a family exceeds its allocation), the United States government will tax the amount that is over the limit.
• To facilitate your way through customs, it is always a good idea to carry with you a list of the items you have acquired and all your receipts. It will make it easier for you to fill out the Customs Declaration Form at your departure, and it will provide customs with documentation in case it wants to challenge your declaration of goods.

For more information:

• Grand Bahama Island Tourism Board, P.O. Box F-40251, Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas, Phone: 242-352-8044, Fax: 242-352-2714/352-7840, In the U.S.: 800-448-3386 (toll free).
• www.bahamas.com
• www.thegrandbahamachamberofcommerce.com
• www.grand-bahama.com