The United States embargo on Cuba in the 1960’s restricted any transaction by U.S. citizens with Cuba unless individuals obtained a license from the United State Department of the Treasury. This regulation, known as the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, limits travel since tourists cannot be issued a license and thus are prohibited from any transaction with the island.
About fifty years later, there may be change on the horizon – will the U.S. open the doors to travel in Cuba?
As part of what is seen as a larger goal, many individuals in the industry are anticipating a change in foreign policy in the near future. Since the U.S. President Barak Obama took office, he loosened restrictions on family visitation and remittances to the neighboring country. This along with public sentiment is fueling the change as indicated by one recent poll conducted by CNN/Opinion Research Corp that found 64% in favor with lifting the travel ban.
The public along with special interest groups are keeping abreast of the situation and are forecasting upcoming changes in policy. According to the Financial Times, they are predicting that “Mr. Obama is poised to grant more educational, cultural and sports travel to Cuba by US citizens. He also plans to license more airports to fly charter flights to Havana.”
Big business is also on board with the removal of the travel ban as the US Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than 3 million businesses, reported that “the measure will help create thousands of American jobs…[and] could boost U.S. exports by as much as $365 million.”
