On visiting Goldeneye for the very first time last April, I could only imagine a cast of characters in evening gowns and white jacket tuxes, on the lawns, the original house in the background, overlooking the private beach and the Caribbean Sea. Oh yes, and how could I forget, everyone is barefooted and with a glass of champagne or a dry martini - shaken, not stirred.

On the north coast of Jamaica, in the town of Oracabessa, Ian Fleming created the most famous spy of all times, James Bond. Having built Goldeneye as his winter home, Fleming wrote his thirteen novels there. In the 1965 publication "Ian Fleming Introduces Jamaica", edited by his Jamaican friend, Morris Cargill, Fleming wrote, "would these books have been born if I had not been living in the gorgeous vacuum of a Jamaican holiday? I doubt it."

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Island Record founder, Chris Blackwell, today owns Goldeneye, which Fleming named after a wartime operation he ran in Spain. The three-bedroom house of jalousies is the centerpiece of the Goldeneye complex, with the James Bond Beach located to the west of the property. Within the house, Fleming's original desk and chair remains. Created at the very desk, the novels Dr. No, Live and Let Die, and The Man with the Golden Gun were each set in Jamaica. The Man with a Golden Gun is said to have been an ode to the island. Adapted for the big screen, each film in some way allows us to discover Bond's (and Fleming's) Jamaica. In fact, it was also Blackwell's Jamaica as it is reported that Fleming had asked Blackwell to scout for locations for the filming of the first 007 film, Dr. No, in 1962.

Fleming infused his love for the island into the life of James Bond. Whereas Jamaica was transformed into the fictional San Monique in the film Live and Let Die, the novel itself makes reference to Bond enjoying a Jamaican breakfast and Blue Mountain Coffee on a veranda, gazing down on the capital city of Kingston and the infamous Port Royal. One can imagine Fleming penning Chapter 17 at Gap Cafe in the mountains, enjoying a cup of this brew - the most delicious in the world.

In its list of "99 Things to Do before you die", the Travel Channel suggests vacationing like James Bond. And vacationing like James Bond was definitely on the minds of an incentive group recently visiting from Russia. "They had no doubt that the James Bond theme would be a success in Jamaica", says Charmaine Harrison of Great Vacations. "From the moment we met them at the airport, their experience began as they were greeted by a Bond girl, a cold drink, and a cold towel." The theme continued throughout the trip, visiting the falls and rafting down the White River, a haunt of Bond and Honey Ryder, right through to the 007-like gala dinner.

For more information or to incorporate these and other sites and celebrations into your programs in Jamaica, Antigua & Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, send us an email or an RFP from our web site.

Newsworthy Tidbits Forbes Traveler lists the top 400 hotel and resorts around the world. The list includes Carlisle Bay, Curtain Bluff, and Jumby Bay of Antigua, and Four Seasons Nevis. The Department of Homeland Security has set January 23 as the new starting date for the regulation, referred to as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, requiring airline passengers entering the United States from within the western hemisphere to possess a valid passport. The implementation was originally set for January 8. Is Trinidad poised to become the new major meetings and conferences destination of the Caribbean? According to Caribbean Net News, preparations are underway in Trinidad and Tobago for two major world conferences in 2009. Next year, Hyatt's first business and convention hotel in the Caribbean will open as part of a massive development project along the waterfront of Port of Spain. The 428-room hotel will feature a 16,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom, a 10,000 square-foot multipurpose facility, full-service restaurants, a lobby bar and lounge, and a spa and fitness center. Award-winning Atlanta-based design firm, Culpepper, McAuliffe and Meaders, Inc. (CMMI) is providing interior design services for the hotel. The Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association last month hosted seven Cross-Cultural Sensitivity and Awareness workshops for participants representing both the staff and management of their members. Feedback indicates that participants found the workshops led by The SNC Group both eye-opening and helpful. The SNC Group is now working hand in hand with HSA International, a company that has been designing and delivering customized and personalized training programs exclusively for the hospitality industry since 1986. Programs include reservations sales workshops, group sales seminars, management development presentations, and customer service classes. Cross-Cultural Tips & News Improving international relations? That seems to be the approach that the U.S. Olympic Committee is taking as for the first time is undertaking a program by which U.S. delegates will receive training on the culture of the host country. China will host the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. According to the report in USA Today on November 8, nearly 60 USOC officials and Olympic and Paralympic team leaders -- the people responsible for directly managing the athletes and their needs at a Games -- learned everything from Chinese dining etiquette to how to build business relationships to how to find the train station.   SNC Destinations/ The SNC Group email: info@sncdestinations.com web: http://www.sncdestinations.com blog: http://sncdestinations.com/cblog PERMISSION TO REPRINT: The contents of this e-newsletter may be copied, reproduced or freely distributed for all non-profit purposes without the consent of the author as long as the author's name and contact information are included. This e-newsletter is sent to all individuals who signed up for our mailing list at www.sncdestinations.com or www.sncdestinations.com/cblog, and to friends and clients of SNC Destinations. We treat your contact information as private and confidential. We will never sell or distribute our subscriber list.