U.S. vacations in Cuba still come with hangovers from Trump's sanctions

Record ID: 1645726

  • Title: U.S. vacations in Cuba still come with hangovers from Trump's sanctions
  • Date: 11th November 2021
  • Summary: HAVANA, CUBA (NOVEMBER 9, 2021) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF TOURISTS WALKING IN OLD HAVANA TOURISTS TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS VARIOUS OF TOURISTS WALKING PEOPLE EATING INSIDE A RESTAURANT (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MANAGER OF ''LA VITROLA'' RESTAURANT, JOSE LEANDRO ALCANTARA, SAYING: ''We are waiting anxiously for North American tourism - Cuban-American relatives - those born over there
  • Embargoed: 25th November 2021 14:24
  • Keywords: Cuba United States air travel tourism vacations
  • Location: SANTA CLARA, HAVANA & VARADERO, CUBA / MIAMI, FLORIDA, & CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • City: SANTA CLARA, HAVANA & VARADERO, CUBA / MIAMI, FLORIDA, & CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: Cuba
  • Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,South America / Central America,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001F35LKJR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Cuba opens its borders next week signaling new opportunity for pandemic-weary travelers and the island's tourism industry, but for U.S. citizens getting there requires jumping through hoops like never before, according to the heads of eight U.S. tour agencies.
    U.S. President Donald Trump ended cruise ship dockings, reduced flights to Havana and eliminated them altogether to the outlying provinces.
    His administration declared most hotels, bus and other Cuban tour services off limits because they were owned by the military, and made financial transactions more difficult in general, measures that remain in place under President Joe Biden.
    "It's never been this difficult in the last 22 years of our business (in Cuba)," said Michael Zuccato, head of Cuba Travel Services.
    Tensions between Washington and Havana are on the rise ahead of protests planned by dissidents on the island for Nov. 15, the same day Cuba reopens its borders to international visitors.
    Zuccato said booking hotels and transferring funds to the Caribbean island in particular had become major headaches for those planning trips to Cuba from the United States.
    Many tour operators had hoped that Biden would make good on campaign promises and reduce hurdles to visiting the Caribbean island, a popular destination that boasts a rich culture, white sand beaches and historic buildings.
    U.S. airlines have announced more flights to Havana beginning next week, with an eye toward Cuban-Americans traveling home over the holidays.
    The Biden administration has given no indication it plans to allow flights to the provinces, however.
    Travel boomed during the detente begun by former U.S. President Barack Obama who loosened restrictions and even took his own family there during an historic visit in 2016.
    The Trump administration reversed Obama's measures and added new restrictions, and then Cuba closed its borders during much of the pandemic.
    During 2018 and 2019, some 500,000 Cuban Americans visited their homeland each year, according to the Cuban government.
    Travel by non-Cuban Americans, however, plunged from 498,538 in 2018 when the Trump administration began to impose new sanctions to just 58,147 in 2020 when pandemic lockdowns began, the government said.
    (Production: Mario Fuentes, Nelson Gonzalez, Gerardo Gomez, Nina Lopez)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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