Cuba Tourism One Year After Obama's Announcement

One year after President Obama said the U.S. would reestablish diplomatic ties with Cuba and that travel to the country would soon be easier for many Americans, numerous obstacles blocking this reality remain in place despite what has seemed at times like a rapid pace of change. Some are slowly toppling: government officials from both countries reached an agreement on Thursday to restore commercial flights between U.S. and Cuban cities, exactly one year after Obama's announcement. The U.S. State Department said in a statement that "this arrangement will continue to allow charter operations and establish scheduled air service, which will facilitate an increase in authorized travel, enhance traveler choices, and promote people-to-people links between the two countries." Tourist travel to Cuba is still off limits for Americans and U.S. travelers seeking to visit must fit into one of a dozen categories outlined by the Obama Administration. Though as the statement suggests, the ban on tourist travel is likely on the verge of collapsing and commercial flights closer to filling up with U.S. travelers. JetBlue, which has offered chartered flights from the U.S. to Cuba since 2011, said it's "eager" to offer service from numerous U.S. cities to multiple destinations in Cuba following the state department's announcement, and will continue operating charter flights for now. "We will review the terms of the agreement to understand how JetBlue can expand from charter service to regularly scheduled service," said Scott Laurence, JetBlue's senior VP of airline planning, in a statement. “We hope the next dot on our Caribbean route map will be Havana, and possibly even other destinations in Cuba.” United Airlines also said yesterday it "looks forward to offering service between our global gateways and Cuba as soon as we have approval to do so." Before this break through, both countries opening embassies this summer in Washington, D.C. and Havana, Cuba's capital, took precedence over launching direct commercial flights, or even the thought of American hotels breaking ground in places like Santiago, Cayo Coco, or Varadero. The 50-plus year trade embargo continues halting progress and prevents American companies from doing business in Cuba with non-Americans, but that didn't stop Airbnb from finding a way into Cuba and giving Americans the means to book accommodations there. "New hotels are coming online, but they’re nowhere near sufficien