Photo by David Cogswell
A group of U.S. Senators have introduced new legislation, the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act, in hopes of permanently lifting all restrictions on American travel to Cuba, according to Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times.
The bill is the first Cuba-related item to be proposed since President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would be restoring full diplomatic relations with the Caribbean nation last month.
Although the legislation would not lift the decades-old trade embargo imposed last century, if passed, it would allow for ordinary tourism to Cuba and also eliminate banking restrictions in regards to travel.
"We have tried this current policy-we have prohibited travel for about 50 years, and it hasn't worked," said Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake. "And so it's time for something new. It's time to allow Americans to travel freely to Cuba."
While Americans no longer have to apply for specific licenses or acquire a government agency's permission to visit Cuba under new regulations announced earlier this month, American travelers still have to prove their visits are for a limited number of approved reasons.
Therefore, the travel ban cannot be fully lifted without Congressional action.
The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) came out in strong support of the bipartisan legislation announced Thursday.
"ASTA has long believed that Americans ought to be allowed to travel across the globe without restriction, allowing them to act as ambassadors of freedom and American values abroad," said Zane Kerby, ASTA President and CEO. "While the Administration's recent actions on Cuba were a step in the right direction, it is Congress that needs to step up to the plate on travel freedom. We are seeing that leadership now from Senators Flake, Leahy and their bipartisan coalition, and we will do everything in our power to get this bill across the finish line."
ASTA estimates at least two million additional Americans would visit Cuba by 2017 if there were to be a full lifting of travel restrictions in 2015. Approximately 1,020,000 would be leisure travelers going by air, 521,400 would be leisure travelers arriving by cruise ship, and another 550,000 Americans would travel to Cuba to visit family members.
It remains to be seen how realistic a chance the bill has of being passed, but it undoubtedly faces stiff opposition.
"I give it little chance," said New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez, who is the only Cuban-American Democrat currently in the Senate.
"If you think having people on the beaches of Varadero, smoking a Cuban cigar that is made by hands that aren't free to collect the type of compensation that they should, and having a Cuba libre, which is an oxymoron, is going to liberate the Cuban people, you're sadly mistaken," Menendez added.
This week's legislation proposal comes on the heels of travel search engine KAYAK announcing that users can now search for hotel and flight information for Cuba on the popular website.
"We have seen significant interest in travel to Cuba," said KAYAK CEO and co-founder Steve Hafner. "Our goal is to provide comprehensive information for travelers - whether they are planning a trip to Cuba or anywhere else in the world."
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