Articles tagged “cuba”

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, controlled by opposing parties, will be at loggerheads over many issues related to both the travel industry and travelers. However, there will be plenty of wiggle room, if not on airplanes with reduced passenger legroom, then in the halls of Congress, where some legislation will undoubtedly get done.

Virgin Voyages has been talking about visiting Cuba for three years now, so this announcement is no surprise. But will the destination still be as popular in 2020 as it is now?

No one doubts that Cuba will continue to grow as a cruise destination. The question is how that growth will be managed — and whether the island can cope with the influx of additional daily visitors.

While Americans lost some of the ability to explore Cuba on their own due to restrictions put in place by the Trump administration, cruise ships are offering organized trips approved by the U.S. government. That seems to be working out well for operators, who are eager to increase their presence in the destination.

This week in tourism news, we looked at two extremes: the sad reality of the Trump Slump and how to manage overtourism. Somewhere in the middle, we analyzed whether Cuba guidebooks are on the level.

Cuba guidebooks do a decent job at giving travelers a view of what visiting and living in the country is like and remain important information gatekeepers. But while many address the political climate and economic hardship, they haven't been effective at telling tourists how to ensure their visits don't make things worse.

U.S. tour operators and travel agents are betting that it will be business as usual, or perhaps even better, as the new Cuba restrictions take effect and individual people-to-people visas get sidelined. But many also find it ironic that the White House announced these changes while Trump was courting leaders of Asian countries that have poor human rights records.

Could cruise lines actually benefit from stricter regulations on American travel to Cuba? Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO Frank Del Rio thinks so — and with even more cruises scheduled to the island next year, he'll find out if he's right.

Officials have let U.S. hotel companies off the hook when making changes to U.S. Cuba travel policy. European and Caribbean companies, however, will likely feel the effect of new restrictions.

It's hard to see how other airlines, hotels and cruise lines don't follow JetBlue's lead in issuing waivers on change fees and cancellations for itineraries to Cuba given the U.S. government's ill-conceived warning for travel to the Caribbean island. The warning looks like it will help reverse the Obama administration's loosening of restrictions on U.S. citizen travel to Cuba.