Multi-destination tourism--Perspective from Cayman Net News

Editorial: The return of Americans to Cuba


Published on Tuesday, December 29, 2009 Email To Friend Print Version



A recent Reuters news report was headlined: “US travel industry gearing up for return to Cuba,” which prompts us to ask, once again, “Is our travel industry gearing up for the return of Americans to Cuba?”



According to Reuters, US tour operators held a video conference with Cuban tourism officials in Havana last week and asked them if they are ready for the “rush” of Americans if the US travel ban is lifted as proposed by legislation now under consideration in the US Congress.



Robert Whitely, president of the US Tour Operators, which together with the National Tour Association, handles 75 percent of all package tour business to the Caribbean, predicted that “at least 850,000 Americans will go to Cuba in the first year.” That does not include an estimated 480,000 Americans who will go to Cuba on Caribbean cruises when US ships are allowed to dock there.



Cuba was a favourite playground for Americans in the 1950s, when the Mafia ran casinos and brothels in Havana that were closed by Castro. As Cuba veered towards communism, Washington broke off diplomatic ties, imposed trade and travel bans and Cuba’s tourist trade all but disappeared for three decades. However, some 2.5 million tourists visited Cuba this year, mostly from Canada and Europe.



But whether American tourists will return to Cuba will hinge on debate in Congress, where opponents say sanctions should not be lifted until Cuba frees political prisoners and undertakes democratic reforms to its one-party state. Whist this may not be an event that our own tourism industry will have to face in 2010, surely such a change in the established order of things is inevitable sooner or later.



We have discussed in these columns on previous occasions the implications of Cuba opening up, especially from a tourism perspective and, as we head into a new year, this seems to be an opportune moment to revisit the topic, especially given the apparent heightened interest in the US travel industry.



There is no doubt that Cuba is the sleeping giant of our region and, compared to the Cayman Islands, has vast resources of raw materials, agricultural products and labour, all at greatly reduced cost in comparison to what is typical here.



Indeed, given the proximity and the historical family and other connections between Cuba and the Cayman Islands, Cuba is far more of a natural trading partner than some Central American countries that have been receiving attention in the past.



To our mind, Cuba therefore represents both an opportunity for increased trade and co-operation, as well as an eventual threat as a competitor for tourism dollars.



We have remarked on previous occasions that the Cayman Islands, along with other destinations in the region, have had a forty-year free run in the tourism stakes. Up to the early 1950s, Cuba was very much the destination of choice for a large segment of the American travel market.



Now, without any contribution from the American market to speak of, Cuba’s tourism sector currently earns approximately US$2 billion a year, with half of the tourists coming from Canada, Argentina and Venezuela, and the other half from Europe, principally Italy, Germany and France. Air Canada alone runs 10 flights per week into Cuba in the summer, rising to 28 weekly flights in the winter.



The world’s largest resort operator, a Spanish company, operates 24 hotels in Cuba, one quarter of the country’s hotel rooms.



Jamaican tourism interests have predicted a slump in visitors from America if the US lifts its travel ban to Cuba but they are already preparing for the reopening of Cuba to US travellers. What are we doing to make similar preparations? So far as we can tell, the answer still seems to be very little, if anything.



Hotel chains in Jamaica already operate hotels in Cuba and Air Jamaica also has regular flights there, providing the potential for multi-destination tourism between Cuba and Jamaica.



Surely there will be similar opportunities for multi-destination travel between Cuba and the Cayman Islands that we need to be thinking about now rather than when our competitors have beaten us to the punch.



Clearly, we are not going to be able to compete with the initial novelty value of Cuba as a “new” vacation destination for Americans but we should be planning for the inevitable and doing our best to profit from it instead of relying on the customary knee-jerk reaction.



The tourism sector in the Cayman Islands has been facing some significant challenges in recent years and will continue to do so in the years ahead. Another strong regional competitor in the shape of Cuba is not going to make life any easier for tourism stakeholders.





Comments:





John McAuliff:

Multi-destination tourism offers good opportunities, in part, because Cuba's hotel capacity will not be adequate in the initial years. Having twice as many people visiting for half the time, while spending the remainder of their holiday in the nearby, better developed, Cayman Islands, will make sense for both countries. However, the packages must be developed and promoted now. Cayman Airways should offer, without delay, direct connecting flights from New York, and on its other established US routes which do not require disembarking. The return flights could be structured around an overnight, or longer, stopover in Grand Cayman to decompress from the intensity of first visits by Americans to Cuba. A growing number of Americans are choosing to disregard the unenforceable restrictions on their travel to Cuba. One of the simplest ways for them to exercise this internationally recognized human right should be through the Cayman Islands so the itinerary is well-established by the time Congress ends the travel embargo.

Cruises Serving Cuba

From a letter to The Havana Times blog
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=17548

the issue on the cruise ships to havana is of great interest since our company CUBA REAL TOURS, a swiss owned and havana based touroperator, is presently organising the shore excursions of three cruise ships. last week came from hapag lloyd the number one cruise ship in the world the MS EUROPE. this week we have also from hapag lloyd the MS COLUMBUS and as of Dec. 31sth we do have the SEACLOUD II - one of the biggest sailing ship calling several ports in this country. there was also the LE LEVANT yacht of the french company ponant in cuba just these days, although this ship was handled by someone else.


we do have the intention to bring in more cruise ships in the future but with the restrictions given, they have to be owned by non american companies and observe the 6 months rule of not returning to a US port after visiting cuba.

kind regards,



CUBA REAL TOURS

Money Lost to US Travel Business

Cuba: Travel ban costs US businesses $1.1B a year

 

AP – The Europa cruise ship is seen in Havana Bay, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano) 

 

By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press Writer Andrea Rodriguez, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 21 mins ago

HAVANA – U.S. tourism companies could take in at least $1.1 billion a year on trips to Cuba if Washington didn't ban most of its citizens from visiting the island, officials said Wednesday during a videoconference with American tour operators. That figure includes $600 million in sales by airlines, $300 million for travel agents and $200 million in U.S. tourism-related exports and services, including food and drink items that could be sold to Cuba as well as spending on advertising to promote Cuba as a destination, said Miguel Figueras, a top aide to Cuban Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero. Figueras provided few details on how Cuba arrived at the numbers, but pointed to a previous study by the American Society of Travel Agents in asserting that without travel restrictions, 1.8 million U.S. tourists would come to Cuba annually. That includes some 482,000 Cuban-Americans visiting relatives on the island, he said. More than 2 million foreign tourists come to Cuba every year, with the biggest numbers from Canada, Britain, Italy, Spain and France. It wasn't clear how much of what Cuba was estimating would be new business for U.S. tour operators, since many people interested in visiting Cuba are likely to take trips elsewhere and not simply stay home because they can't come to the island. Journalists attending the videoconference were not allowed to ask questions. Currently, U.S. citizens, other than Cuban-Americans, may legally visit Cuba only if they obtain a license from the Treasury Department for government, journalistic, religious or humanitarian purposes. The embargo took its current form in February 1962 and prohibits nearly all trade between both countries, although the travel ban was eased during the Carter administration. Legislation introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate would end the travel ban, but a series of similar proposals in the past have never made it to floor votes. Dozens of representatives from Cuba's government-run hotels, travel agencies and rental car outlets participated in the video link to a gathering of a similar number of U.S. tourism executives at a Washington hotel. One U.S. tour operator wanted to know why he couldn't buy Cuban beach property and build his own hotel — an impossibility in a communist country where the government dominates all aspects of the economy. Another asked if Cubans are still prohibited from entering tourist hotels, a ban that stood for decades but was lifted in April 2008. When asked about golf, Figueras said the government would like to build 10 new courses. Now, there are just two — a nine-hole course in Havana and an 18-hole one at the beach resort of Varadero. The government has talked for decades about more golf courses, but hasn't yet built even one.


***************

U.S. Travel Industry Gearing up for Return to Cuba
By Anthony Boadle,
December 16, 2009
Reuters

WASHINGTON

It's too soon for
Americans to plan a Cuban vacation of beach, mambo and mojitos, but the U.S.
travel industry is gearing up for a return to its largest Caribbean destination
before Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.

Tour operators held a video
conference with Cuban tourism officials in Havana on Wednesday and asked them if
they are ready for the "rush" of Americans if the U.S. travel ban is lifted as
proposed by legislation now under consideration in the U.S.
Congress.

"Americans really want to see Cuba," said Robert Whitely,
president of the U.S. Tour Operators, which together with the National Tour
Association also present at the event, handles 75 percent of all package tour
business to the Caribbean.

"We predict that at least 850,000 Americans
will go to Cuba in the first year," Whitely said.

That does not include
an estimated 480,000 Americans who will go to Cuba on Caribbean cruises when
U.S. ships are allowed to dock there, and another 480,000 Cuban American
visiting family in Cuba each year, a Cuban official said.

Cuba plans to
build 30 hotels over the next six years with the help of foreign investors,
adding 10,000 rooms to the 48,600 that exist now, as well as golf courses, said
Miguel Figueras, the top adviser to the Cuban tourism minister.

FAVORITE
PLAYGROUND

Cuba was a favorite playground for Americans in the 1950s,
when the Mafia ran casinos and brothels in Havana that were closed by Castro. As
Cuba veered toward communism, Washington broke off diplomatic ties, imposed
trade and travel bans and Cuba's tourist trade all but disappeared for three
decades.

Some 2.5 million tourists visited Cuba this year, mostly from
Canada and Europe, said Figueras, who indicated that U.S. companies are losing
out to the tune of $1 billion a year.

According to Cuban estimates based
on 2 million Americans visiting Cuba a year, U.S. airlines stand to earn $600
million and travel agencies $300 million annually, Figueras
said.

President Barack Obama has said he wants to improve ties with
communist-run Cuba and lifted restrictions introduced by the Bush administration
on visits and family remittances by Cuban Americans to the island.

But
whether American tourists will return to Cuba will hinge on debate in Congress,
where opponents say sanctions should not be lifted until Cuba frees political
prisoners and undertakes democratic reforms to its one-party state.

They
say American tourism will help prop up the communist government of President
Raul Castro, who succeed his ailing brother last year.

A bill to end the
travel ban sponsored by Democrat Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts and Republican
Jeff Flake of Arizona has 195 backers in the House of Representatives, 23 votes
short, supporters of the measure said.

Similar legislation in the Senate
has the support of key senators such as Republican Richard Lugar of Indiana, but
needs 60 votes to pass.

"They are within striking distance in the House,"
said Phil Peters, a Cuba expert at the Lexington Institute think tank.

No
action on the bill is expected until the spring.

(Additional reporting by
Marc Frank in Havana, editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Copyright 2009 Reuters News Service.

Hotels Interest in Cuba

Sol Melia to Gain From U.S. Repeal of Cuba Travel Ban

By Jens Erik Gould and Nadja Brandt


Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Spanish hotelier Sol Melia SA will benefit over American rivals like Marriott International Inc. if a bill before U.S. lawmakers this week to end a 46-year travel ban to Cuba is enacted while a broader embargo is kept in place.


The trade embargo would ban U.S. hotel operators from lodging the 1.1 million Americans that the U.S. International Trade Commission says may visit annually if the travel ban is lifted. And repealing the ban may drive business away from other Caribbean resorts operated by U.S. companies, said Robert Muse, a Washington-based lawyer.


“While lifting the travel ban is a perfectly commendable project, the main economic beneficiary will be Sol Melia,” said Muse, who advises U.S. clients on Cuba-related issues. Palma de Majorca, Spain-based Sol Melia is the world’s largest resort operator. It manages 24 hotels on the communist island.
The U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs will hold a hearing Nov. 19 on the travel ban, the first since Democrats took control of Congress in 2007.


U.S. hotels, mobile phone providers, travel insurance companies and credit card issuers see the bill, known as the “Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act,” as a step to ending the embargo, said Jake Colvin, vice president of the National Foreign Trade Council.


Standing Room Only


The Washington-based trade association has held about six meetings with dozens of its 300 members to discuss business opportunities with Cuba since President Barack Obama succeeded George W. Bush in January.


“If these meetings were taking place under Bush,” who favored retaining the travel ban, “you could’ve fit everyone interested in a closet,” said Colvin. “Now they’re standing room only.”


Christopher Sabatini, policy director at the Council of the Americas in New York, agreed that repealing the travel ban may lead to a reconsideration of the embargo. “The idea is to get rid of the travel ban and then let the momentum build,” he said.


The legislation has 179 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House and needs 218 votes to pass if all 435 members vote. A similar bill was introduced in the Senate.


Marriott shares rose 70 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $27.66 at 3:38 p.m. New York time. Sol Melia’s shares rose 26 cents, or 3.9 percent, to 6.76 euros.


“We certainly would monitor any changes the U.S. government makes regarding doing business in Cuba,” Tom Marder, a spokesman for Bethesda, Maryland-based Marriott said.


‘Momentum’


U.K.-based InterContinental Hotels Group Plc. says it will not enter Cuba as long as the embargo is in place. The company is subject to U.S. laws because the majority of its investments are in that country, said Alvaro Diago, who is chief operating officer and head of Latin America.


“U.S. hotel companies aren’t getting their fair share of the Cuban market while European companies have already a foot in the market,” Diago said in an interview.


U.S. tourists will flock to Cuba because their inability to travel there for almost 50 years has created an “allure” and “mysteriousness” about the island, said Eric Trump, executive vice president of development and acquisitions for Trump Organization, a real estate investment and development company founded by Donald J. Trump.


‘On our Radar’


“Cuba has been on our radar, but until we can actually get in there, it’s harder to plan preliminary steps,” Trump, 25, said in an interview. “We are such a presence in south Florida. It’s such a staple for us. Cuba would fit right in there.”


Wyndham Worldwide Corp., the franchiser of Days Inn hotels and Super 8 motels, considers the lifting of the embargo a matter of time, according to Eric Danziger, president and chief executive officer of Wyndham’s hotel division.


“Sol Melia is there presently and that gives them a current advantage,” Danziger said in a telephone interview, adding that the market has great appeal.


Ignacio Sosa, a Cuban-born founder and managing partner of Boston-based hedge fund OneWorld Investments from 1998-2008, said “singling out Cuba as the only country Americans can’t travel to has produced no positive results.”


Sosa, who emigrated with his anti-Castro family from Cuba in 1960 when he was four years old, will testify at the hearing with retired U.S. Army General Barry McCaffrey, the White House’s anti-drug czar from 1996-2001, and James Cason, who headed the U.S. interests section in Havana under Bush.


On Sept. 3, Obama ended restrictions on Cuban-Americans traveling and sending money transfers to relatives back home. That’s expected to double to 200,000 the number of U.S. tourists visiting the island this year, Sabatini said.


‘Holy Grail’


“If you are a potato, you can get to Cuba very easily,” Representative Sam Farr, a California Democrat and one of the co-sponsors of the bill, said in a Sept. 21 interview. “But if you are a person, you can’t, and that is our problem.”


Orbitz Worldwide Inc. said Nov. 11 that it received 100,000 signatures for a campaign it started in May called OpenCuba.org. Lifting the travel ban to Cuba would probably increase Orbitz’s revenue from airline and hotel bookings, Chief Executive Barney Harford said in a Nov. 10 interview.


U.S. passengers on Caribbean cruise lines, with their accommodation and amenities already provided at sea, will demand sightseeing stops in Havana, said Bob Whitley, president of the United States Tour Operators Association, which supports lifting the travel ban.


“Cuba is the Holy Grail of cruising,” Richard Fain, chief executive officer of Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., said in an Oct. 6 interview in New York. “I can’t wait until we have a free and open Cuba.”


To contact the reporter on this story: Jens Erik Gould in Mexico City at jgould9@bloomberg.net; Nadja Brandt in Los Angeles at nbrandt@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 16, 2009 15:50 EST

Potential flights from Ft. Lauderdale on Jet Blue and Spirit

Cuba travel clears one hurdle in Broward

The Broward County Commission took the first steps to becoming a gateway to Cuba.

BY AMY SHERMAN

asherman@MiamiHerald.com

Residents and travelers with relatives in Cuba might be able to hop a plane or boat out of Broward bound for Cuba.

Broward County commissioners on Tuesday approved seeking permission from the federal government to allow flights to and from Cuba at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
County officials will also ask the U.S. Department of Treasury to designate Port Everglades as another point of entry.

Commissioners approved the item without discussion.

But the chances of the county getting approval -- and when the trips would start -- are unknown.
``We want to put ourselves to be in a position to be considered,'' Broward airport director Kent George said.

Earlier this year, the U.S. government eased travel restrictions to Cuba to allow those who have relatives there to visit more often. More than 100,000 people of Cuban descent live in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

But the federal government still has to create a national policy that will determine whether several airports and ports are granted access at once or gradually, George said.

Spirit Airlines and JetBlue have expressed an interest in starting such flights out of the Fort Lauderdale airport. George estimates the airlines would start offering service a couple of times a week.

Currently three airports have permission to fly to Cuba: Miami, New York-Kennedy and Los Angeles.
Several airports nationwide, including Key West and Tampa, have expressed interest in offering service to Cuba.

If Fort Lauderdale wants to be successful, ``I think they better get to Washington,'' said Vivian Mannerud, owner of Airline Brokers Company, which charters flights from Miami to Cuba. ``There are other airports in the U.S. that have been lobbying very heavily to get approved and they have been at it for seven or eight months.''

George said he had no immediate plans to send lobbyists to Washington, D.C. though he said that is a possibility.

Adding flights to Cuba would not increase costs for the airport.

Said George: ``We have the gates, customs and security.''

British Cruise Line to Add Cuba

Thomson Cruises Will Sail to Cuba in 2010-2011

October 7, 2009

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=3468

(4:30 p.m. EDT) -- British line Thomson Cruises is shaking things up in winter 2010-2011 with a series of new 14-night Caribbean itineraries -- including Thomson's first-ever calls in Havana, Cuba. The cruises will be operated by the new 1,506-passenger, 54,000-tonne Thomson Dream, which will join the fleet in April 2010. Havana is an exciting choice because not many cruise lines visit the Cuban city, due to U.S. restrictions on travel there. Even U.K.-based Fred. Olsen has only four cruises calling in Havana in 2010; German line Hapag-Lloyd offers just a couple of calls in Cuba, as well. However, when Thomson Dream sails its new two-week cruises from December 2010 to March 2011, it will not only offer a full season of Cuban visits but also will feature two or three days in Havana on each itinerary. There are three different types of itineraries from which to choose -- Caribbean Experience, Cuban Adventure and Classic Caribbean. What's unusual is that the ship will actually sail a repeating, 21-night route that will be divided into 14-night segments. That means passengers will debark, and new passengers will board halfway through your cruise. Also, because each 14-night segment is a one-way sailing, Thomson will not offer a fly-cruise option. (There is no option to sail three weeks roundtrip from any of the departure points, as many ports of call are repeated from segment to segment.) Here are the highlights of each: Caribbean Experience: This cruise sails from Barbados to Havana, visiting multiple Caribbean islands and Central American ports, including Roatan, Costa Maya and Cozumel. The itinerary features an overnight in Cuba. Departure dates are 23 December 2010; 13 January, 3 and 24 February 2011. Cuban Adventure: This cruise sails from Montego Bay to Barbados, visiting Central America and Southern and Eastern Caribbean ports. The itinerary features three days and two nights in Cuba, mid-cruise. Departure dates are 30 December 2010; 20 January, 10 February and 3 March 2011. Classic Caribbean: This cruise sails from Havana to Montego Bay, concentrating on Caribbean islands. The itinerary begins with an overnight in Cuba. Departure dates are 6 and 27 January and 17 February 2011. In addition to Havana, these Caribbean itineraries include two more new-for-Thomson ports: Santa Marta, Columbia (on Classic Caribbean and Caribbean Experience), and Roatan, Honduras (on Caribbean Experience and Cuban Adventure). Thomson Dream's Caribbean itineraries will go on sale on 5 November 2009. --by Erica Silverstein, Senior Editor

Program for Destination Seminar at Las Vegas Trade Show

"Cuba Breakthrough:
Opportunities for the US Travel Industry"



• Welcome by moderator

Robert E. Whitley, CTC, President, United States Tour Operators Association

• Slide presentation of Cuba as a destination (15 min)

Christopher P. Baker, travel writer and photographer since 1983, considered the world's foremost authority on travel and tourism to Cuba, about which he has written six books, including the Moon Cuba, Moon Havana, and National Geographic Traveler Cuba guidebooks, plus Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro's Cuba. He has written for publications as diverse as National Geographic Traveler, Newsweek, and Robb Report. He has addressed Cuba at the National Press Club, World Affairs Council, "Live from National Geographic," etc., and appears regularly on ABC, CBS, Fox News, NPR, and similar radio and TV outlets. He was named Lowell Thomas Award Travel Journalist of the Year in 2008 and is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers.
cpbaker@earthlink.net www.christopherbaker.com http://moon.com/blogs/cuba-costa-rica

• The Cuba experience of a US tour operator (10 min)

Andrea Holbrook, President of Holbrook Travel, has been working in Cuba since 2000 as a licensed Travel Service Provider (TSP). Her company is a tour operation specializing in educational and natural history travel since 1974. Holbrook Travel uses its unique expertise in customizing programs to create magical learning experiences; connecting knowledge-seeking travelers to diverse environments and cultures around the world. Company founder and ecotourism pioneer, Giovanna Holbrook, is also responsible for establishing the Selva Verde Lodge and Rainforest Reserve, which protects 500 acres of primary forest in northeastern Costa Rica. Andrea chairs the Travel Industry Network on Cuba. www.holbrooktravel.com www.selvaverde.com

• Operational in Cuba, a personal insight on commercial tourism today (10 min)

Marti Aragones, Sales and Marketing Director, Canada – US Market, Sol Melia Cuba Hotels, the largest foreign manager of hotels and resorts on the island. He has been with Sol Melia for 12 years, 5 of them working directly at the destination in Cuba, the rest working in Canada and as Sales and Marketing Director. Before that Aragones owned a travel agency in Spain for 3 years. www.solmeliacuba.com

• Cuba’s potential for American tour operators (15 min)

Lisa Simon, CTP, President, National Tour Association (NTA) since 2004. She began her tenure with NTA in 1985 and served as its senior vice president from 1998 to 2004. Simon has managed NTA’s education, certification and marketing activities, as well as served as the director of the National Tourism Foundation and vice president of Marketing. With more than 20 years’ experience in association marketing and management, her facilitation skills and analytical abilities have proven effective in leadership development, strategic planning, organizational structure and managing change. She is a member of the American Society of Association Executives, and serves on the boards of the US Travel Association and Tourism Cares www.nta.org

Robert E. Whitley, CTC, President, United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA)
since 1978. Before joining USTOA, Whitley held positions as director of the Florida Department of Tourism, director of the Pennsylvania Department of Tourism and director of the Virginia Beach Convention and Tourist Bureau. Mr. Whitley is the recipient of numerous marketing awards for travel promotion, and has served on the Board of Directors of many travel industry associations. For seven consecutive years he was recognized by a leading trade magazine as one of the travel industry’s 25 most influential executives, and was named in 1996, 1997 and 1999 as Person of the Year for Travel Industry Associations by Travel Agent Magazine. He was also given the 2005 Travel Weekly Award for Lifetime Achievement. www.ustoa.org

• Gov. Bill Richardson in Cuba: Travel Challenges and Opportunities (10 min)

Tony Martinez, Senior Foreign Policy Adviser to New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson on U.S. Relations with Cuba and Latin America; Attorney, Government Relations, and Strategic Business Consultant. He has worked on United States-Cuba relations and policy issues for the last ten years. He advises food, medical, agriculture, telecommunications, and travel companies on legally permissible trade and travel to Cuba and has led several business and Congressional delegations to the island. An expert on U.S. Congressional politics, Tony has been involved with these issues since he was 16 years old. He has worked closely with Gov. Richardson over the last 17 years during his tenures as U.S. Representative, U.S. Ambassador to the UN, and U.S. Energy Secretary. He recently accompanied him on his trip to Cuba in August, 2009. tonym@uscuba.biz Twitter: usambcuba www.uscuba.blogspot.com

• Washington update, the Administration and Congress (5 min)

John McAuliff, Coordinator, Travel Industry Network on Cuba; Executive Director, Fund for Reconciliation and Development. He organized licensed educational travel to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1985 and to Cuba from 1997. A leader of efforts by US non-governmental organizations to normalize travel, trade and diplomatic relations with Indochina and Cuba. Active in US civil rights and anti-war movements and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru.
director@ffrd.org www.ffrd.org www.thehavananote.com

************************

Visit our Cuba Now booth # 1237. Andrea, Marti and Tony will be there on Sunday and Monday. Sign the Open Cuba petition on-line. The first 400 new signers (and bringers of signers) will receive a button and USTOA T-shirt. Business card draw for CDs noon Tuesday.

*************************

Yes, we all can make a difference:

• Share the petition link with your friends and clients www.opencuba.org

• Urge the President to license unlimited travel for educational, cultural, religious, humanitarian and other non-tourist purposes http://www.whitehouse.gov/ope/contact/

• Ask if your Representative and Senators will cosponsor, or at least commit to vote for, legislation that legalizes all travel and tourism: HR 874, S 428 (text at www.thomas.gov)

• Join and support the educational work of the Travel Industry Network on Cuba http://www.nycharities.org/donate/c_donate.asp?CharityCode=1270

Travel Industry Network on Cuba, c/o Fund for Reconciliation and Development
145 Palisade Street, Suite 401, Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522 914-231-6270 director@ffrd.org