U.S. Senate Votes to End Travel Restrictions to Cuba

October 23, 2003

U.S. Senate Votes to End Travel Restrictions to Cuba
October 23, 2003 – Four days after a delegation of U.S. tourism professionals – including an NTA representative – visited Cuba, the U.S. Senate has voted to move to end restrictions on travel to the country.

According to CNN.com, the Senate voted 59-36 to bar the use of government money to enforce current travel restrictions. Last month, a nearly identical measure passed the House, setting up a showdown with the administration, which says President Bush will veto a $90 billion Transportation and Treasury Department bill if it contains the Cuba language.

"The administration believes that it is essential to maintain sanctions and travel restrictions to deny economic resources to the brutal Castro regime," the White House said in a statement.

NTA participated in a Cancun, Mexico, conference Oct. 16-18, then joined other travel professionals on a one-day visit to Havana. The conference and day-trip were organized by the Association of Travel-Related Industry Professionals. ATRIP maintains that lifting the travel ban to Cuba is long overdue and would provide a much-needed boost to both the U.S. economy and the travel industry.

The Treasury Department estimates that about 160,000 Americans, half of them Cuban-Americans visiting family members, traveled to Cuba legally last year, along with humanitarian and educational groups, journalists and diplomats. But thousands of other Americans visit Cuba illegally by way of third countries, risking thousands of dollars in fines and imprisonment, said CNN.com.

To read more, go to CNN.com.