US travellers to Cuba drops drastically [View All]

[Judi Lynn]

Tuesday, 19 July

US travellers to Cuba drops drastically

The number of United States travellers to Cuba has dropped drastically over the past year reported Monday the Miami press.

The 60% reduction is a direct consequence of tougher restrictions imposed on dealings with the island by President George W. Bush's administration to "promote a democratic transition on the island", the El Nuevo Herald newspaper said.

For Cuba the fall in the number of visitors from the US translates into a reduction of 95 million US dollars in revenue, but also has a cost for U.S.-based airlines and travel businesses money, adds the newspaper.

In the past 12 months, according to official figures, some 55,000 people travelled from the United States to Cuba, about 35.7% of the number that had been visiting the island annually before the travel restrictions imposed June 30, 2004.
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http://www.falkland-malvinas.com/Detalle.asp?NUM=6062

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Sunday, July 17, 2005 · Last updated 10:27 a.m. PT

Seattle women bound for Cuba in defiance of law

By GEORGE ESTRADA
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

SEATTLE -- Cindy Domingo has been to Cuba a dozen times, but hopes she isn't pushing her luck too far for her 13th trip, when she'll travel without U.S government permission to protest tight new restrictions on visiting the communist country.

Domingo, a longtime Seattle activist dedicated to humanitarian and feminist causes, will accompany three other Seattle-area women on the July 21 trip and expects to join hundreds of other defiant travelers in a "travel challenge."

For U.S. citizens, traveling to Cuba requires a license issued by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, a document that has recently become much more difficult to obtain. In protest, Domingo and her fellow travelers are ignoring the process.

"We want to let the U.S. government know that we have the right to travel to Cuba without their permission," said Domingo, an aide to King County Councilman Larry Gossett. "I'm uncertain what we'll face at the border. But I'm also excited to be joining hundreds of others who'll be going without licenses."
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http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?category=6420&slug=WA%20Defiant%20Travelers