Cuban authorities consider that Tourism is one of the most affected sectors by the US blockade against this island, as reflected in an official report.
This opinion is corroborated by different aspects of the travel industry that, far from improving in these bilateral relations, get worse now, after almost 60 years of the US barriers that oppress the perspective of this nation.
Even on several occasions, the Cuban tourism minister, Manuel Marrero, recalled that Cuba the only country in the world that Americans have banned from traveling freely.
Therefore, the Cuba vs. Blockade Report contains details of that war that is increasingly making the island economy worse. The document is Cuba’s report on Resolution 73/8 of the United Nations General Assembly.
Such text has as subtitle “Need to end the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba”, will be presented to that international body in early November.
The report points out that these affectations against this country caused losses to Cuban tourism worth about 1,383 million dollars.
This document indicates in general that the evaluation is carried out from April 2018 to March 2019, when the effects of extraterritoriality of such pressures are increasingly appreciated.
In total, in all areas, these sanctions caused Cuba in the mentioned period losses in the order of four thousand 343.6 million dollars.
Just to name a few examples – the text emphasizes – the measure taken by Washington to eliminate general licenses for group-to-town group educational trips, aggravates the negative impact on the influx of Americans to the Island.
While the previous ban on travel from town to town on an individual basis, forced US travelers to visit Cuba under the sponsorship of an organization, the new measure completely suppresses the possibility of taking advantage of this category.
Although during the period there was an increase in the arrival of cruise passengers, the entrance of American visitors by air decreased by 28.6 percent.
This represented a decrease of 103,161 visitors compared to 2017 and had a negative impact on revenue collection.
The policy adopted as of June 5, 2019 by the United States government makes the situation much worse.
That policy comes to deny licenses to non-commercial aircraft and passenger and recreational vessels in temporary stay, including cruises to Cuba, which further damages US travel to the country, and revenues from this concept, reflects the text.
On October 26th, US officials from Treasury Dept. announced that Trump administration will suspend regular flights to all Cuban destinations, except Havana, US media reported.
According to the Associated Press (AP) and NBC News, this new measure by the Republican government against Cuba will take effect next December.
The decision, which complements other aggressive measures taken by the US government to reverse the bilateral approach started during the administration of President Barack Obama (2009-2017), will affect American Airlines and JetBlue flights to Cuban destinations such as Villa Clara, Camaguey and Holguin.
According to AP, two people informed about the measure said that the Transportation Department will announce the suspension of regular flights to all Cuban cities, except Havana, a destination that will remain legal for authorized US companies.
The media said that the reason for this new restriction is to avoid tourism to Cuba, which is banned by the law of the United States, a country that has imposed an economic, commercial and financial blockade on the Caribbean nation for almost 60 years.
Although the current reason is to avoid tourism, the measure will significantly affect hundreds of thousands of Cuban-Americans who travel to Cuba every year to visit their relatives in places outside Havana.
Just a week before, the US administration took the decision to restricts leasing of commercial aircraft to Cuban state-owned Cubana de Aviación, a move intended to further pinch revenue to the Cuban government.
The U.S. has ramped up pressure on Cuba, saying the country is supporting Nicolás Maduro’s government in Venezuela.
The move, announced last week by the U.S. Commerce Department, follows U.S.-imposed travel curbs on Cuba in June, barring American cruise lines, yachts, sailboats and private flights from going to the island in an attempt to dry up income derived from visitors.
The U.S. has placed substantial trade restrictions on Cuba since the early 1960s. The export or re-export of goods and services to Cuba, except for food and medicine, is generally prohibited or requires a license from the U.S. government.
The U.S. said it would revoke existing licenses for aircraft leases to Cuban state-owned airlines and will deny future applications for aircraft leases, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said Friday.
The Commerce Department said it is making the changes because the Cuban government allegedly has been transporting tourists on leased aircraft to generate revenue.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez rejected the new measure by the US government to suspend airlines’ flights to several Cuban airports, except Havana.
Rodriguez posted on his Twitter account that the action tightens the travel ban on US citizens and mutilates their freedoms, while ‘damaging people-to-people ties.’
‘Concessions will not be taken from us,’ Rodriguez wrote on Twitter. (Periódico Digital Centroamericano y del Caribe)
