Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category
US – Cuba Talk About BP Oil Spill
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster which threatens Florida beaches is prompting the US and Cuba into “Working Level” talks. According to the Washington Post:
U.S and Cuban officials are holding “working level” talks on how to respond to the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill that is believed to be dumping some 5,000 barrels of crude a day into the Gulf of Mexico, two State Department officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The talks add to signs of concern that strong currents could carry the slick far from the site of the spill, possibly threatening the Florida Keys and the pristine white beaches along Cuba’s northern coast.
Cuba is a mere 90 miles from the Florida Keys and if the oil is picked up by the Gulf Stream, the oil affecting Florida beaches and Cuba’s shoreline will become a environmental and tourism nightmare for both countries.
High Hopes for Passage of “Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act”
Signs are looking positive for two important pieces of legislation, in the Senate, S.428 and the House H.R.874; both titled, the “Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act”.
Business Week has three recent articles which point to progress, according to this article:
The U.S. House of Representatives may pass a bill next month that would cut restrictions on agricultural exports to Cuba and lift a ban on travel to the island, the measure’s sponsor said.
Congressman Collin Peterson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said he needs backing from one more lawmaker to assure the panel will pass the legislation. He expects to secure that pledge after Congress’s Easter recess, and for the measure to get approval by the full House.
And in the Senate, the sponsor of the bill, Senator Byron Dorgan said:
he will bring a bill to lift the ban on travel to Cuba to the Senate floor this summer and that more than 60 Senators will vote for it.
All of this good news has Cuba getting ready for US tourist:
Cuba’s hotels could manage a sudden influx of 1 million American tourists if the U.S. Congress lifts its 47-year ban on travel to the Communist island, Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero said.
Additionally, the Caribbean nation is set to expand its capacity of about 50,000 rooms, with groundbreaking scheduled for at least nine hotels in 2010, Marrero said. About 200,000 rooms may be added in the “medium to long-term,” he said. Cuba is also seeking investment partners for 10 golf courses and luxury hotels aimed at Americans, according to a ministry official.
Dairy Farmers Support End of Travel & Export Restrictions
Congressman Jerry Moran of Kansas is co-sponsoring legislation he to open Cuba markets for U.S. farmers and ranchers. Dairy farmers are supportive of the legislation according to the CattleNetwork:
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) applauded yesterday’s introduction of a House bill that would allow for open travel for all Americans to Cuba and further facilitate U.S. agricultural exports to that nation.
The Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act (H.R. 4645) was offered by House Agriculture Committee Chairman, Collin Peterson, and is currently co-sponsored by 33 other Members of Congress, including Representatives Jerry Moran of Kansas, Rosa L. DeLauro of Connecticut and Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri.
The NMPF also sees the value of ending travel restrictions to Cuba:
The other critical element that H.R. 4645 would tackle is to abolish restrictions on Americans’ rights to travel to Cuba. This would facilitate U.S. exporters’ ability to conduct business with Cuba, spurring greater demand for U.S. agricultural products.
“This bill would help to address administrative and technical barriers to U.S. dairy exports to Cuba that are not in keeping with the original spirit and intent of Congress when it determined that we should be able to export agricultural products to Cuba roughly ten years ago,” said Tom Suber, President of the U.S. Dairy Export Council. “The Cuban market holds significant promise for U.S. dairy exporters but has become increasingly difficult to supply within the past few years.”
South Floridian Travel to Cuba Sees Growth
South Floridians are traveling to Cuba on a more frequent basis. According to the Miami Herald:
Between April and June, about 55,000 people traveled to Cuba, compared to 30,000 in the three previous months, before the restrictions were lifted. The number of travelers is expected to hit 200,000 by year’s end, about double the yearly figures during the Bush restrictions. And travel executives expect the numbers to spike even higher now that new rules announced by the Obama administration — which lift all restrictions on family visits to Cuba — have taken effect.
Right-Wing Scare Tactics Against Cuban Travel
Blogger Yoani Sanchez was detained briefly in Cuba according to Reuters:
Sanchez, 34, told Reuters the agents forced her and blogger Orlando Luis Pardo into a car as they neared the demonstration in Havana’s Vedado district, took them to a spot near her home and dropped them off, throwing her purse on the street as they drove away.
And now the right-wing is all up in arms, according to the hate group that calls themselves the Heritage Foundation:
Certainly Congress has the power to change the laws so Americans can travel to Cuba, but can they make Cuba safer or freer? Or will the promised U.S. tourist bonanza just help the Cuban regime buy more police cars, hire more secret police, and tighten the noose of repression that encircles the necks of the Cuban people?
I certainly believe Cuba has a ways to go in fundamental human rights as do most who believe in establishing relations with the regime, but shining the light of day on Cuba is the best way to do it. Not promoting lies and falsehoods as the Heritage Foundation is famous for.
Travel to Cuba Sparks Lawsuit Against State Department
A New York Man has filed a lawsuit against the State Department claiming Fifth Amendment protects him from giving details of his Cuba trip because it would lead to self-incrimination. According to the Wall Street Journal:
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, alleges Zachary Sanders was fined after he failed to respond to a March 2000 request by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for information on an alleged June 1998 trip to Cuba and travel while he was there.
The complaint, filed on behalf of Sanders by the nonprofit Center for Constitutional Rights, is seeking a declaration that OFAC’s policy is unlawful, enjoining OFAC from issuing such penalties and setting aside the fine to Sanders.
Non-Stop Flights to Cuba from LAX
Non-stop flights from Los Angles International Airport (LAX) are being offered by Cuba Travel Services for Cuban-Americans and their families. According to their press release:
“We are excited to resume the non-stop flights out of LAX to Havana that were in such high demand prior to the Bush Administration’s restrictions imposed on Cuban Americans that limited their ability to visit with their families in Cuba,” said Michael Zuccato, General Manager of Cuba Travel Services, Inc.
For more visit their website at www.cubatravelservices.com.
Join Orbitz and Tell Washington to End the US Travel Ban to Cuba
Orbitz is putting it all out there in their support for ending the US travel ban to Cuba. According to a press release:
“President Obama recently took a bold step in easing travel restrictions for Cuban-Americans,” said Barney Harford, president and CEO of Orbitz Worldwide. “The OpenCuba.org campaign calls on the President and Congress to take action to end the travel ban to Cuba, giving all Americans the freedom to visit what once was a premier tourist destination for U.S. citizens.”
“Our mission at Orbitz is to help travelers experience the world,” continued Harford. “67% of Americans would also support a policy that would allow U.S. travel agents such as Orbitz to book vacation travel to Cuba.”
The OpenCuba.org website gives travelers the opportunity to get directly involved in a grassroots effort to convince American legislators and regulators to end the ban on travel to Cuba. As a focus of the campaign, travelers will be asked to sign a petition calling for an end to the travel ban. Orbitz executives will formally present the petition to U.S. officials in Washington, DC, later this year.
Every person who signs the petition will receive a $100 coupon redeemable on Orbitz against a vacation to Cuba valid if and when the U.S. Government removes the ban on travel to Cuba, and as soon as Orbitz is able to offer such travel on its website.
The OpenCuba.org website also lets Americans write personal letters to President Obama, Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Clinton and members of the U.S. Congress regarding the Cuba travel ban.
TravelCubaNow.com supports Orbitz effort to promote Cuban Travel for US Citizens.
Robert F. Kennedy Never Supported Travel Ban According to Daughter
Writing in the Washington Post Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, says her father never supported banning or prosecuting US citizens travel to Cuba. During the time the senior Kennedy was Attorney General:
In December 1963, the Justice Department was preparing to prosecute four members of the Student Committee for Travel to Cuba who had led a group of 59 college-age Americans on a trip to Havana. My father opposed those prosecutions, as well as the travel ban itself.
Obama Ends Travel Restrictions – Cuba Prepares for US Tourism Invasion
As had been speculated for weeks, President Obama has officially ended all Cuban-American travel and some financial restrictions to the island nation of Cuba. Obama also is lifted telecommunications restrictions. From AP:
In a further gesture of openness, U.S. telecommunications firms were freed to seek business there, too. But the broader U.S. trade embargo remained in place.
Cuba Prepares for US Tourism Invasion
Cubans are anticipating a huge influx of US Tourist by building a new marina with 1500 slips 80 miles east of Havana near Varadero. According to Reuters:
“If the travel ban is lifted, you’ll probably see hundreds, hundreds of American yachtsmen going to Cuba the next day,” said Timothy Ashby, a former U.S. Commerce Department official who studies Cuban commercial issues.
But all may not be so smooth according to this AP Article:
Cuba has about as many hotel rooms as Detroit and most are already full of Canadians and Europeans. Experts say droves of Americans could drive up prices, unleash calls for more flights and cruises than Cuba can handle and force the government to tighten visa restrictions to regulate the stampede.
An influx of Americans could create a lodging crunch. The communist state has partnered with foreign companies such as Spanish chain Sol Melia to offer about 46,000 hotel rooms across an island about the size of Pennsylvania. Some 17,300 of those rooms are concentrated in the beach resort of Varadero, 90 miles (140 kilometers) east of Havana.
If the US Embargo was lifted, US companies could build all those hotels.
And don’t expect the same level of service you’d find at a Miami resort:
Even at top Cuban resorts, it is often hard to get amenities as basic as an extra roll of toilet paper. Comforts including apples, french fries and bottled beer are sometimes scarce – not to mention perks like in-room coffee-makers or wireless Internet access.
Cuba is in desperate need of American Ingenuity, It’s time to end the embargo.