To enter Cuba, tour operators navigate a minefield of rules
To enter Cuba, tour operators navigate a minefield of rulesPosted on: July 26, 2011By Gay Nagle Myers
Think of Cuba today as a theater in which the curtain is about to go up on the first act of a performance that created quite a buzz in rehearsals a decade ago.
Abercrombie & Kent announced new Cuba programs last week, followed a day later by a similar announcement from the Globus Family of Brands.Insight Cuba was first out of the gate in June, and according to director Tom Popper, it didn't take long to fill its inaugural trip, which departs Miami on Aug. 11.
There are other companies already in the mix as well, and more announcements from mainstream operators are expected soon.
Fueling all these product announcements is a policy change issued by the Obama administration in January, which allows U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba to meet with local Cubans in the "people-to-people" category of educational and cultural travel.
The administration expanded the definition of group travel to Cuba beyond strictly religious, educational, humanitarian and cultural travel to include U.S. travelers who want to meet and share experiences with local Cubans in all walks of life.
The people-to-people programs were popular during the final years of the Clinton administration, but they were discontinued in 2004 by President George W. Bush.
Obama reversed Bush's decision this year, serving to heighten interest in travel to Cuba by all sorts of groups and triggering numerous applications for people-to-people travel licenses from the U.S. government.
But while a lot of companies are clearly eager to jump into the fray, the process of developing a Cuba product requires patience and a deep understanding of how to navigate the legal minefield of federal regulations to obtain a license.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control is charged with overseeing, implementing, licensing and regulating all categories of travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens.
Travelers, too, are bound by strict rules and regulations. They still must travel in escorted groups on trips led by authorized, U.S. government-licensed organizations.
Tour operators like Insight Cuba, A&K and Globus have partnered with or are associated with nonprofit organizations, some of which already held a license to offer other categories of travel to Cuba, such as educational, religious or cultural tours.
Tour operators cannot obtain such a license themselves, under the current OFAC regulations.
Once companies or organizations have obtained a license to operate people-to-people programs, they must turn to travel service providers to handle the travel arrangements for participants in their programs, including booking hotel accommodations, air, tours and activities in Cuba.
The TSPs — and there are a lot of them — are licensed and appointed by OFAC to uphold the regulations of the Treasury Department. TSPs facilitate travel, collect money and provide services for those individuals or groups who themselves are licensed to go to Cuba.
Many of the TSPs are located in South Florida, and the bulk of their business involves handling air travel bookings for Cuban-Americans traveling to Cuba on a general license to visit relatives, a change that Obama announced in 2009.
In other words, any travel to Cuba must involve two layers of government-certified entities: a licensed tour operator or nonprofit travel organization and a licensed TSP.
The official list of TSPs appears as a link on the Treasury Department's website, at www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/pages/cuba.aspx.
For example, Globus and its partner — the Center for Caribbean Religion & Culture, which holds the license for the Globus programs to Cuba — are working with Miami-based Cuba Travel Services, an authorized TSP, to facilitate all the travel arrangements for the Globus programs.
Globus will launch its series of escorted products in January, starting with a series of religious travel programs. It plans to expand later into the people-to-people category of cultural exchange travel.
Departure dates for the religious trips will be announced on Aug. 10, at which time the program will also begin taking reservations. Program details and pricing will be posted on the Globus website on that date, said Mike Shields, managing director for groups and emerging markets.
"There will be series of departures from January through May 2012, which will resume again in September through the end of the year," Shields said.
The Globus product
Globus' first itinerary will be "A Spiritual, Historical and Cultural Journey," an eight-day Havana-only escorted package.
Scott Nisbet, CEO for the Globus family of brands, described the program as a "once-in-a-lifetime experience for Globus travelers."
"This itinerary presents an interesting, insightful opportunity to connect with a fascinating country we know very little about," he said. "We are thrilled to be among an elite group of tour companies selected to transport travelers on this spiritual journey to a bygone era."
The itinerary will incorporate a number of religious sites and religious-themed activities in Havana as well as offer participants a walking tour of Old Havana, a tour of the Colon Cemetery, a visit to the Museum of the Revolution and a ride in a 1950s car.
The trip is priced from $2,889 per person, land only, and includes accommodations at the Melia Cohiba in Havana, all meals, air-conditioned motorcoach transport and the services of an in-country host/guide.
Roundtrip charter air from Miami to Havana is extra. Air as well as all other travel arrangements will be handled by Cuba Travel Services, an OFAC-licensed TSP.
The A&K product
A&K has operated in Cuba for five years out of its U.K. headquarters, offering custom and group tours for travelers from countries other than the U.S. It will launch its Cuba program for American travelers this fall out of its U.S. office.
Its series of Cuba programs for U.S. travelers, is made possible by a partnership with the California-based Foundation for Caribbean Studies, a nonprofit organization licensed by OFAC. The product will consist of escorted motorcoach programs led by local in-country host/guides.
The 11-day inaugural trip departs Sept. 30, followed by departures Oct. 14 and 17; Nov. 23; and Dec. 12 and 22.
Departures in 2012 "could at least double this year's number, based on early forecasts," said Scott Wiseman, A&K's president in the U.S. "We've built upon our experience in Cuba to ensure our guests will discover Cuba at its most intimate, authentic and in complete comfort.
"Each tour is limited to 24 participants and includes contact with Cuban people in all walks of life, from artists and architects to musicians and farms."
Tour participants fly into Cienfuegos, near Trinidad on Cuba's south coast, spend three nights at the Iberostar Gran Hotel Trinidad and explore the area before moving on to the Hotel Nacional in Havana for seven nights.
The tours are priced from $4,325 per person, including accommodations, meals, air-conditioned motorcoach transport and an expedited visa process upon arrival.
Itineraries include visits to Havana, the colonial town of Trinidad, the cultural city of Matanzas, the Cuban countryside, historical sites, sugar mills, a cigar factory and a rum plantation as well as special sites open only to A&K participants.
Among the special sites is a private visit to Room 511 in the Hotel Ambos Mundos, Ernest Hemingway's hideout in Havana, and a tour of Finca Vigie, the writer's seaside home. Richard Harris, senior vice president of operations, said that because the tour is offered before the home opens to general visitors each day, "it is more personalized and intimate and less congested."
The tour price does not include a $449 charter flight from Miami, a $200 fee to the Foundation for Caribbean Studies nor $55 in visa costs.CubaTobacThe Insight Cuba product
Insight Cuba, a division of Cross-Cultural Solutions, a nonprofit organization specializing in people-to-people cultural exchanges around the world, legally carried 2,500 U.S. citizens to Cuba in the second half of 2003 alone, according to director Tom Popper.
When Insight received its license in late June from OFAC, "we were excited to be able to relaunch the people-to-people programs once again," Popper said.
The firm is offering six distinct products, with more than 130 departures through September 2012. Its inaugural tour, on Aug. 11, is already sold out.
"Bookings are going swimmingly," Popper said. "We have more than 200 bookings scattered throughout our other departures, and the numbers grow every day."
Popper ramped up his staff of travel specialists to handle the additional volume after the Cuba programs were launched. Today, he said, "We're handling between 500 and 700 emails and phone inquiries a week."
Each of Insight's programs will be limited to 16 participants.
Prices range from $1,695 for the three-night Weekend in Havana tour to $3,339 for the seven-night Cuban Music & Art Experience tour.
Prices cover all meals, double-occupancy accommodations, motorcoach transport, domestic flights within Cuba if required, entry fees, guide services and travel insurance. Most programs run seven nights.
Air is not included in the package price. Insight Cuba works with Marazul Charters, a TSP licensed for Cuba travel since 1977.
http://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Tour-Operators/To-enter-Cuba,-tour-operators-navigate-a-minefield-of-rules/?a=tours
TURISTAS ABANDONAN LOS CAYOS
Esta vez la carta que comienza ha remover el estiercolero del sistema comunista es el turismo. “Jardines del Rey”, Polo Turistico al norte de Morón, Ciego de Avila.Hotel Melia Cayo Guillermo, perteneciente a la firma espanola Meliá,corporación insignia ha cerrado y sus trabajadores han quedado“disponibles”, término que utilizan para no decir desempleados en la Cuba Socialista “espejo de Latinoamerica”. Turistas de Inglaterra, Alemania, Canada, y otros países han abandonado sus paquetes turísticos al retirarse de la instalación mencionada por escasez de alimentos y licores al estilo de un cinco estrellas, teniendo que soportar durante algunos periodos de tiempo un día agobiante de calor en sus habitaciones, pues la administración les impidia hacer uso de los aires acondicionados, como sucede en otros hoteles. Otro hotel que esta a punto de cerrar es el administrado por la firmaGAVIOTA, perteneciente a las FAR, conocido como el Senador o NH KRISTAL porque fueron firmas que estuvieron, pero se fueron. Según los propios trabajadores que suministraron estos datos a la APLA en calidad de anonimato, en el día de ayer 31 de mayo habían sólo 6 turistas en el complejo más grande del Polo Turístico “Jardines del Rey”, que se ubica entre los hoteles Tryp Cayo Coco y Sol Meliá Cayo Coco, cuando su capacidad es para más de mil turistas. Otra información recibida de afectados con el desempleo, y comprobada por estos comunicadores sociales, dice que están optando por incentivar el turismo de bajo precio, entre paises de Latinoamerica como Argentina, además de tratar de los propios cubanos se alquilen en los hoteles o “disfruten” del llamado DAY USE, o sea un dia en las playas de los Cayos Coco o Guillermo.
http://www.miscelaneasdecuba.net/web/article.asp?artID=32475
Cuba-China trade recovers in 2010
Cuba-China trade recovers in 2010Published February 10, 2011EFE
Havana – Trade between China and Cuba totaled $1.8 billion last year, posting a recovery from 2009, official figures released Thursday in Havana show.
Bilateral trade grew by $300 million in 2010, compared to the previous year, even though it continued to be affected by the global economic recession and other factors, Chinese Ambassador to Cuba Liu Yuquin said.
Beijing's goal is to diversify trade with Cuba, which mainly sells China sugar, rum and biotechnology products, the diplomat said in an interview with the weekly Opciones.
China's exports to the Caribbean nation are dominated by automobiles, buses and appliances, such as televisions and refrigerators, Liu told Opciones.
China is Cuba's second-largest trading partner, trailing only Venezuela.
Bilateral trade totaled about $1.55 billion in 2009, down 31.5 percent from 2008, when it reached $2.2 billion.
Ambassador Liu praised the advances made in bilateral cooperation, citing the opening in February 2010 of Shanghai's Gran Melia Hotel, which was constructed by Chinese state-owned company Xintian (Suntime) and Cubanacan.
The hotel was the first to be managed in China by Spanish hotel chain Sol Melia.
Cuba and China plan to build a $117 million luxury hotel on the island in Havana's Marina Hemingway.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2011/02/10/cuba-china-trade-recovers/
Castro y los blogueros de Cuba
Castro y los blogueros de CubaDe Luis Ayllón (el 09/02/2011 a las 20:29:53, en Cuba)
20 de Octubre de 2009. Un grupo de periodistas españoles esperábamos en el hall del Hotel Melia Cohiba de La Habana a que nos informaran de una de las reuniones del ministro Moratinos con las autoridades cubanas. Muy cerca de nosotros, completamente ensimismada en su tarea, Yoani Sánchez se aplicaba para conectarse a Internet y colgar su última aportaciones en su blog "Generación Y". Venía con todo preparado para aprovechar al máximo la hora de conexión que le costaba 6 dólares, una cantidad bastante respetable para un cubano viviendo en La Habana. Hace unos años, ni siquiera habría podido entrar en el hotel, porque estaba prohibido a los cubanos.
Ella misma no podía ver el resultado de su trabajo, porque el régimen mantenía bloqueado el acceso a los portales "Desde Cuba" y "Voces Cubanas", donde está alojado su blog. Pero ni eso ni la presión del castrismo le desalentaba. Así ha seguido durante mucho tiempo. Ahora, Raúl Castro ha decidido desbloquear los portales, donde pueden verse treinta blogs de disidentes.
¿Hay que felicitar a las autoridades cubanas por ello? Seguramente habrá quien piense así. De la misma forma que el Gobierno español está muy satisfecho de que hayan sido liberados unos 60 presos de conciencia y cree que la Unión Europea debe por ello suspender la Posición Común y establecer un acuerdo bilateral con La Habana.
Pero ni en un caso ni en otro, el régimen debe ser aplaudido por devolver la libertad a quienes se la robó. Llevándoles a la cárcel o censurando el acceso a los blogs. La propia Yoani Sánchez ha hecho un comentario en este sentido y no termina de creerse que esto no sea una simple medida coyuntural, que termine de un día para otro.
Además, muy pocos cubanos tienen acceso a Internet. Después de todo, la dictadura sigue sintiéndose dueña de la vida de los ciudadanos de la isla. Suelta a los presos cuando lo considera conveniente, mientras hostiga a los disidentes o les impide recoger los premios que se les concede fuera de Cuba, como sucedió con Yoani Sánchez o Guillermo Fariñas. Por eso, iniciativas como la de los siete diputados noruegos que han nominado al impulsor del proyecto Varela, Oswaldo Payá, para el premio Nobel de la Paz merecerían el respaldo de los gobiernos democráticos.
http://www.abc.es/blogs/luis-ayllon/public/post/castro-y-los-blogueros-de-cuba-7937.asp
Sol Meliá to open hotel No. 25 in Cuba
Sol Meliá to open hotel No. 25 in Cuba
Spanish Hotel operator Grupo Sol Meliá will open its hotel No. 25 in Cuba on Dec. 1.
The Meliá Buenavista on Cayo Santa María, on Cuba's north-central coast, is designed for all-included package tourism. It includes 104 suites, three restaurants and three bars. Sol Meliá now manages 1,688 rooms in four hotels on Cayo Santa María.
http://www.cubastandard.com/2010/11/14/sol-melia-to-open-hotel-no-25-in-cuba/
El presidente de Sol Meliá, ‘agradecido’ a Fidel Castro
El presidente de Sol Meliá, 'agradecido' a Fidel CastroJueves 06 de Mayo de 2010 12:47 Agencias
El presidente de la compañía hotelera española Sol Meliá, Gabriel Escarrer, envió este miércoles una placa de agradecimiento a Fidel Castro por "su impulso al turismo", informó la agencia oficial Prensa Latina.
Escarrer entregó la placa en el Hotel Meliá Cohiba, de La Habana, al ministro cubano de Turismo, Manuel Marrero, en un acto por los 20 años de la presencia de la cadena española en la Isla.
"Los que abren caminos y fundan visionariamente el futuro privilegian con su luz y convocan con su ejemplo. Al Comandante en Jefe, Fidel Castro Ruz, Fundador Honorífico del Hotel Sol Palmeras", dice el texto de la placa.
Sol Meliá inauguró el 10 de mayo de 1990, en Varadero, su primer hotel, Sol Palmeras. Fidel Castro asistió a la ceremonia de apertura.
Según Prensa Latina, Escarrer elogió la "disposición y ayuda de Fidel Castro" al desarrollo del turismo y agradeció también el "apoyo" del general Raúl Castro.
El ministro Marrero regaló a Escarrer un cuadro con la página del diario oficial Granma del 12 de mayo de 1990, donde se anunció el inicio de los contactos entre la cadena y La Habana y del principio de la inversión extranjera en la industria turística cubana.
A la ceremonia asistieron también el vicepresidente de Sol Meliá, Sebastián Escarrer, y el Director General de la División Cuba de la empresa, Gabriel Cánaves, junto a directores de cadenas, turoperadores y expertos en turismo.
Sol Meliá gestiona actualmente en Cuba 24 hoteles de cuatro y cinco estrellas (10.361 habitaciones), la mayor presencia del grupo hotelero en el Caribe.
http://www.diariodecuba.net/cuba/81-cuba/1495-el-presidente-de-sol-melia-agradecido-a-fidel-castro.html
Cuba readies for US tourists with luxury hotels
Cuba readies for US tourists with luxury hotelsPublished on Saturday, March 27, 2010By Jonathan J. Levin
CANCUN, Mexico (Bloomberg) — Cuba's hotels could manage a sudden influx of 1 million American tourists if the US 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.
"I'm convinced that today, with the available capacity, we could be receiving the American tourists without any problem," Marrero said in an interview yesterday in Cancun, Mexico where he was attending a conference of 40 American and Cuban tourist industry representatives.
The tourism industry meeting comes as the US Congress considers a law that would lift the ban on travel to Cuba. Senator Byron Dorgan, one of 38 co-sponsors of the bill, said he has 60 votes lined up to win passage of the measure this summer. Similar legislation introduced in the House has 178 co-sponsors and needs 218 votes to pass if all 435 members vote.
"This is a 50 year-old failed policy," Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, told the meeting yesterday in a phone call from Washington. "Punishing Americans by restricting their right to travel just makes no sense at all."
President Barack Obama said March 24 that he's seeking a "new era" in relations with Cuba even as he denounced "deeply disturbing" human rights violations by its government. He did not say where he stands on lifting the travel ban.
Obama last year ended restrictions on Cuban-Americans traveling to Cuba and transferring money to relatives back home. The US State Department has also held talks in Havana with Cuban officials about restoring mail service and cooperation on migration issues.
Tourism to Cuba increased 3.5 percent amid the global financial crisis to 2.4 million visitors last year, with 900,000 visitors from Canada leading the way, Jose Manuel Bisbe, commercial director for the Tourism Ministry, said in an interview this week in Havana.
Bisbe expects foreign arrivals to grow by a similar amount this year. If the US travel ban is lifted, hotels won't be overburdened because Americans will visit year-round and face capacity problems only during the winter high season when occupancy reaches 85 percent, he said.
"Havana has been the forbidden city for so long that it will be a boom destination even in the low season," said Bisbe, who estimates Cuba will add another 10,000 hotel rooms in the next two or three years.
Daniel Garcia, who has sold tourists used books in Old Havana since 1994, said more Americans would be good for business.
"The gringos can't help but spend their money," Garcia, 43, said at his stand in front of the neo-classical building that housed the US Embassy before Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. "They are the easiest tourists to sell to. They never ask for discounts."
Marrero said the government can't finance development of tourist infrastructure on its own so it's scouting for foreign partners such as Majorca, Spain-based Sol Melia SA, which already manages 24 hotels on the Communist island.
"The Cubans have provided us with a fairly complete picture of their tourism product and future opportunities for US businesses to work in this market," Lisa Simon, president of the Lexington, Kentucky-based National Tour Association, said in an e-mailed statement. "We look forward to a follow up conference next year in Cuba, should the legislation pending in Congress be approved."
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/article.php?news_id=22310
U.S. Travel Sector to Meet Cuban Officials in Cancun
U.S. Travel Sector to Meet Cuban Officials in CancunTo Discuss Travel Potential
LEXINGTON, KY, January 21, 2010 – Dozens of representatives of the U.S. travel sector will meet with their Cuban counterparts in a public forum to discuss the potential for travel between the U.S. and Cuba.
The meeting will take place at the U.S.-Cuba Travel Summit to be held at the Gran Melia Cancun Hotel in Cancun, Mexico, from March 24-26, 2010.
This historic gathering is being organized by Alamar Associates in association with the NTA and sponsored by The United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA). Other sponsors to date include Marazul Charters, Vigilant Worldwide Communications, and The Americas Group.
A Cuban delegation of more than 20 officials and travel specialists traveling from Havana will include ministry officials as well as representatives of all of the major Cuban travel/tour operators.
"Over the years, these Summits have proven useful and successful in providing U.S. company executives practical information about how to do business in Cuba and whom to contact," said Kirby Jones, president of Alamar Associates.
More than 100 attendees from the United States are expected to convene in Cancun including tour operators, cruise line executives, hotel representatives, tourism developers and investors and airline officials. "This meeting will allow NTA members and others to meet their Cuban counterparts and give them a leading edge in learning about the business opportunities in Cuba," said Lisa Simon, president of NTA, which has long supported the freedom to travel to Cuba.
In a statement to the organizers of the U.S.-Cuba Travel Summit, Senator Byron Dorgan (D.ND), the lead sponsor of the Senate bill to lift restrictions to travel to Cuba, said, "As sponsor of the 'Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act' to allow all Americans to visit Cuba, I wish the participants the very best when they come together in Cancun at the US-Cuba Travel Summit. This meeting between US travel executives and their Cuban counterparts is a valuable first step for American companies and organizations to learn how things will work when Cuba is open to American tourism."
The Conference agenda will include presentations by the Cuban ministry officials and officials of the major U.S. travel associations; panel discussions on the travel industry potential; practicalities about how to prepare for business in and with Cuba; what Cuba offers; experiences of firms already doing travel business in Cuba; and prospects for changes in the U.S. laws.
In addition, there will be breakout sessions on all aspects of travel in Cuba and more than two days for U.S. participants to talk informally and personally with all officials from Cuba.
"We are strong supporters of open travel to Cuba and the current bills in Congress to lift restrictions," said Bob Whitley, President of USTOA. "We view this gathering as a clear signal that travel to Cuba is important to the growth and development of our US travel industry."
This is the 10th such U.S.-Cuba business gathering that has been organized in Cancun by Alamar Associates. Overall, more than 400 U.S. executives have been able to meet their Cuban counterparts in such sectors as food and agriculture, energy, general business, and travel.
Full details about the US-Cuba Travel Summit can be found at www.uscubasummit.org
NTA is the preferred association in the tourism industry for packaged travel professionals. NTA strives to provide value for its members by advancing the packaged travel industry through its advocacy efforts and progressive leadership. Connecting its members through business development, government relations, professional development and research, NTA has remained committed to serving its members with integrity and quality service since its founding in 1951. Today, the NTA membership represents 48 countries, and includes tour and travel packagers of all types. To learn more about the most important destination for packaged travel professionals, please visit www.NTAonline.com.
HotelExecutive.com – Newswire – U.S. Travel Sector to Meet Cuban Officials in Cancun (21 January 2010)http://hotelexecutive.com/newswire/31546/u-s-travel-sector-to-meet-cuban-officials-in-cancun
Descuentos en hoteles de Cuba, de Sol Meliá
Descuentos en hoteles de Cuba, de Sol Meliá19 Noviembre 2009 Sin Comentarios
La cadena hotelera Sol Meliá está ofertando un descuento del 40% sobre el precio del alojamiento en todos sus hoteles en Cuba para este invierno, siempre que la reserva del mismo se realice antes del 21 de diciembre próximo.
"Vacaciones en Cuba", nombre con el que se conoce esta promoción, incluye hasta 20 resorts Meliá en los principales destinos de Cuba: Varadero, Cayo Santa María, Cayo Coco, Cayo Santa María, Cayo Guillermo, Cayo Largo del Sur y Playa Esmeralda en Holguín.
Descuentos en hoteles de Cuba, de Sol Meliá (19 November 2009)http://diariodeunturista.com/descuentos-en-hoteles-de-cuba-de-sol-melia/3026
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