BUSINESS
RELATING TO GOVERNMENT
INSIGHTS ON U.S. LEGISLATIVE ISSUES AND INDUSTRY TOPICS
A change in Cuba travel
EVER SINCE THE 2016 presidential
election, there have been rumblings
in Washington and within the tour-
ism industry about how the Trump
administration might handle travel to
Cuba, which was partially opened by
the Obama administration. On June 16,
President Trump announced an about-
face for significant pieces of Obama’s
deal with the island nation. The
president stopped short of completely
reversing the previous administration’s
Cuba policies, but the announcement
did include new travel and commercial
restrictions.
While both the Cuban embassy in
Washington, D.C., and the American
embassy in Havana will stay open for
now, any visits to Cuba by U.S. citizens
must be as part of people-to-people
travel that is coordinated by tour com-
panies approved by the U.S. federal gov-
ernment. These educational trips must
now be taken as part of a group, rather
than by individuals. Cruises and flights
between the two countries will also
continue, although Southwest Airlines
has announced the cancelation of two
routes, and several other U.S. airlines
have either stopped some flights or
withdrawn from the market completely.
A major tenet of the Trump admin-
istration’s policy is the prohibition of
any direct transactions with companies
Operators, take note
Michael Zuccato
is the general
manager of NTA-
member Cuba Travel
Services in Cypress,
California. Asked
for his take on the
new travel policy, Zuccato provided
three observations, noting that
nothing is certain until official regu-
lations are issued.
• U.S. tour operators will need to
supply a company representative
on each departure.
• Tour operators should ensure
that each tour qualifies under
the people-to-people category.
“That includes a full-time sched-
ule of educational activities that
are intended to enhance contact
with the Cuban people and that
result in a meaningful interaction
between the traveler and indi-
viduals in Cuba.”
Travel from the U.S. to Cuba must meet the requirements of “people-to-people”
interaction between visitors and the people of Cuba, which can include school children.
10
August/September 2017
• Regarding tours that utilize prop-
erties owned or operated by enti-
ties related to the Cuban military:
“If reservations have been made
prior to the regulations being
published, they will be permitted
to continue as originally sched-
uled. After the regulations are
published, there appear to be
prohibitions on certain hotels and
services.”
For more information, contact
Zuccato at michael@cubatravel
services.com or visit the website
cubatravelservices.com.