By: Daniel Nardini
No one knows how many Americans will go to Cuba this year. But there is no question that this number will be substantial. One of the travel agencies that organize travel to Cuba in the United States, Marazul, says that they have a waiting list of 1,500 people alone, and many more are waiting to book with Marazul for travel to Cuba. Another travel agency, Cuba Insight, has as many as 3,000 waiting to go to Cuba. Since the Cuban government still requires visas before any American can visit the country, this has to be arranged weeks in advance. And this does not include tickets or hotel reservations.
Despite this, Americans who are allowed by the U.S. government to visit Cuba are now going to Cuba. U.S. President Barack Obama, while not having gotten rid of the U.S. embargo, has relaxed its restrictive provisions. Americans can go to visit Cuba if they go for cultural, academic or humanitarian reasons to the island. And these provisions can be quite flexible. Therefore it is more possible than ever for Americans to go to Cuba if they can convince the U.S. government they fall within these categories. Americans who fall into these categories can and are going to Cuba.
Even with the embargo, the number of Americans visiting Cuba has vastly increased. In 2008, over 41,900 Americans visited Cuba. In 2009, 52,500 Americans visited. Last year, 62,000 Americans visited the island. For a growing number of Americans, there is a whole list of why they visit Cuba. The costs are low, and for those Americans who are visiting Cuba they find the people friendly, the resort areas fantastic (even though they are not supposed to take advantage of them), and the country rich in history and culture. Also, Cuba is politically stable. The numbers I have quoted do not include the annual number of 350,000 Cuban immigrants in the United States and Cuban Americans who visit the island. The number does not include Americans who go through third countries to get to Cuba (usually Canada or Mexico, although just about any country in Latin America is now possible for an American to get to Cuba).
Another thing these numbers do not include are the number of business people who are going to Cuba. While business is still prohibited by the U.S. embargo, nevertheless business people are going to Cuba under the growing exemptions to the U.S. embargo to network in that country. So if and when full diplomatic relations and full economic ties are again established then it will be possible for those business people who go to Cuba now to get a head start. If one were to go by the numbers alone, the United States in fact becomes the country with the second largest number of tourists who visit Cuba every year. Canada, where travel to Cuba is legal, is number one for North America. The numbers alone are a statement that slowly but surely a growing relationship is developing between Americans and Cubans, and it will continue with or without the U.S. embargo.
Crunching by the Tourist Numbers
By: Daniel Nardini
No one knows how many Americans will go to Cuba this year. But there is no question that this number will be substantial. One of the travel agencies that organize travel to Cuba in the United States, Marazul, says that they have a waiting list of 1,500 people alone, and many more are waiting to book with Marazul for travel to Cuba. Another travel agency, Cuba Insight, has as many as 3,000 waiting to go to Cuba. Since the Cuban government still requires visas before any American can visit the country, this has to be arranged weeks in advance. And this does not include tickets or hotel reservations.
Despite this, Americans who are allowed by the U.S. government to visit Cuba are now going to Cuba. U.S. President Barack Obama, while not having gotten rid of the U.S. embargo, has relaxed its restrictive provisions. Americans can go to visit Cuba if they go for cultural, academic or humanitarian reasons to the island. And these provisions can be quite flexible. Therefore it is more possible than ever for Americans to go to Cuba if they can convince the U.S. government they fall within these categories. Americans who fall into these categories can and are going to Cuba.
Even with the embargo, the number of Americans visiting Cuba has vastly increased. In 2008, over 41,900 Americans visited Cuba. In 2009, 52,500 Americans visited. Last year, 62,000 Americans visited the island. For a growing number of Americans, there is a whole list of why they visit Cuba. The costs are low, and for those Americans who are visiting Cuba they find the people friendly, the resort areas fantastic (even though they are not supposed to take advantage of them), and the country rich in history and culture. Also, Cuba is politically stable. The numbers I have quoted do not include the annual number of 350,000 Cuban immigrants in the United States and Cuban Americans who visit the island. The number does not include Americans who go through third countries to get to Cuba (usually Canada or Mexico, although just about any country in Latin America is now possible for an American to get to Cuba).
Another thing these numbers do not include are the number of business people who are going to Cuba. While business is still prohibited by the U.S. embargo, nevertheless business people are going to Cuba under the growing exemptions to the U.S. embargo to network in that country. So if and when full diplomatic relations and full economic ties are again established then it will be possible for those business people who go to Cuba now to get a head start. If one were to go by the numbers alone, the United States in fact becomes the country with the second largest number of tourists who visit Cuba every year. Canada, where travel to Cuba is legal, is number one for North America. The numbers alone are a statement that slowly but surely a growing relationship is developing between Americans and Cubans, and it will continue with or without the U.S. embargo.