Cuba travel restrictions dampen summer plans, Cuban tourism

The Trump Administration placed new restrictions on travel to Cuba. That means trips planned to the island this summer are either getting canceled or move around. After former President Obama lifted travel restrictions back in 2014, it opened the floodgates for anyone trying to travel there. “Throw a destination in someone’s face and it’s open now and you’ve never seen it, it’s the first thing you wanna do,” said Iesha Brewton, a local travel agent. Travel restrictions lasted nearly 60 decades and now the Trump Administration is working to scale back tourism again. “A lot of people were looking forward to the destination to conquer their bucket list, me included and I hope it can reopen sometime in the future,” Brewton said. And for her, it means her job is getting more complicated. “They are either being sent to a different port of call if by cruise, and they’re land trip is getting cancelled all together,” Brewton said. Cancellations are now something her clients are now experiencing firsthand. “I had a group cruise to Cuba for Thanksgiving 2020 and it was instantly cancelled because of the sanction,” she said. And it’s especially been a road block for Americans that are already in Cuba. “Did not realize this would be the last trip to Cuba, but certainly happy I got to experience the Cuban culture,” said Garry Lemar, a passenger on a cruise ship. “I think it’s a terrible thing. Especially meeting and talking with the locals on how it would impact them directly,” said Elliot, another passenger. Five million people were expected to visit Cuba this year alone, but that will no longer be the case with the new travel restrictions. Tourism for was also estimated to exceed 3 billion dollars this year.