File this under “I’m glad I visited when I could, and I hope you did, too.”
In a not terribly surprising move, the Trump administration has issued new rules on travel to Cuba. Effective tomorrow, you’ll once again need to be part of an organized tour to visit the island.
The heart of the new rules is a move to ban any US business (by a person or company) with any Cuban business financially tied to the Cuban military.
Individual (independent) people-to-people licenses are officially done now, though you can still go with a US-based tour company who will follow the new rules. The restrictions mean there are many hotels and restaurants a US citizen cannot do business with, though.
The Support for the Cuban People license will still exist, but you’ll need to have a full-time schedule of authorized activities.
Renting a room in a private Cuban residence (casa particular), eating at privately owned Cuban restaurants (paladares), and shopping at privately owned stores run by self- employed Cubans (cuentapropistas) are examples of authorized activities; however, in order to meet the requirement of a full-time schedule, a traveler must engage in additional authorized Support for the Cuban People activities.
I am not immediately clear on how one gets permission for the “Support for the Cuban People” license. If you know, please comment below.
Importantly, business contracts signed between when Obama opened trade and now will remain valid and grandfathered under this new set of rules. Previously booked and arranged personal travel still appears to be OK. The new rules go into effect tomorrow, November 9th.
Did you have a chance to visit Cuba during the last 2 years? Let me know here, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group.
