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T H I S+W E E K >Forbidden island:
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BY DON GEORGE | so you say you're an American citizen, and you want to visit Cuba. Can you do that without getting yourself thrown into the slammer, or slapped on your illegal wrists to the tune of $100,000 greenbacks? Yes, you can, but it's a little more complicated than just booking a plane ticket and polishing your humidor. First, the law. According to the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1963, American citizens cannot spend money relating to Cuban travel unless they are licensed to do so. You can apply for a travel license if you are one of the following: a journalist, a government employee traveling on official business, a member of an international organization of which the U.S. is also a member, or a relative of someone living in Cuba. This leaves most of us out, but happily, there's one more category: You can also apply for a license if you can demonstrate that you are traveling for scholarly, humanitarian or cultural purposes. This is the catch-all category under which most U.S. travelers legally go. If you are traveling with a license, you have to observe two further restrictions: You can spend no more than $100 a day for living expenses while in Cuba, and you can return to the U.S. with no more than $100 of Cuban-origin goods for personal use. Do you have to have a license to visit Cuba? No. Reportedly, U.S. travelers have arranged visits to Cuba without an official license, usually flying via Cancun, where they make both visa and hotel arrangements. However, the risk of unlicensed travel is a maximum criminal fine of $250,000 and a civil fine of up to $50,000. If you want to go the legal route, travel license applications must be made to the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which maintains offices in Washington, D.C., and Miami. For more information, call them at (202) 622-2520 or at (305) 536-6769. You can navigate the application process and, if you are approved, visit Cuba on your own, but the smoother alternative is to arrange your trip through an agency that specializes in Cuba travel. You can find a list of some such agencies on the Havanatur Web site. In talking with travelers and travel industry professionals, three agencies in particular seem to be recommended most often. Generally speaking, the first specializes in general travelers, the second in Cuban family travel and professional specialty trips and the third in arts-oriented travel and last-minute arrangements. Here are quick Q&A's with representatives of these three: GLOBAL EXCHANGE
We spoke with Jennifer Carino, Reality Tours Director. Can you describe your company? Global Exchange is a nonprofit organization that leads trips to South Africa, Vietnam, Senegal, Indonesia, Thailand, Palestine and Northern Ireland, in addition to Cuba. In regard to Cuba, I would say that we cater to a wide range of travelers, general travelers who are interested in the country and its culture and in humanitarian visits. What kind of trips do you lead to Cuba? We have many different themes, ranging from youth festivals to Afro-Cuban culture, Jammin' in Havana, general arts and music cultural tours, ecotourism and New Year's celebrations. Who can go? Anyone can go. It's legal to travel to Cuba; it's just illegal to spend money in Cuba. If our travelers don't have a license from the Treasury Department, we arrange it so that they are hosted, meaning they don't actually have to spend money in Cuba. How does this work financially? Being hosted means an organization in Cuba has agreed to take care of the visitor's on-the-ground expenses: accommodations, transportation, meals. We have been running humanitarian and cultural trips to Cuba for the last eight years and have made close relationships with companies -- for example, soy milk and soy foods companies -- so they have agreed to host our travelers. How much does it cost? The average trip is $1,300 from Cancun; everyone meets in Cancun. Our trips usually stay in Havana for half the time and in another province the other half of the time. Our average trips are 10 days in length. How many people does your organization take per year? We have trips leaving throughout the year, and we take about 500 people a year.
We spoke with Hilda Diaz, President. How long has your company been arranging travel to Cuba? Since 1979. We offer many kinds of programs, but we specialize in family visits for Cuban-Americans. They are allowed to go for humanitarian visits once a year. What other kinds of programs do you have? We generally offer social or political programs. Sometimes our travelers are researching science, architecture or literature, but they always have a program attached. How long do your trips last? And who can go? They vary from four-day to two-week programs. The people who can sign up for the programs are either professionals working in that field or people who have a special interest in that field. They have to have a license from the Treasury Department. How does the application process work? Prospective visitors send us their résumé. We send the program of the group to the Treasury Department and then we send information about the professional work that the travelers do. This must be in accordance with the program we are submitting. Do you have to be working in the field of literature, say, to be accepted? What if you're just someone who loves to read books, and you want to understand Cuban literature better by going there? Could you go on a program? You could certainly send in an application; we don't make the decision. How many people are actually granted licenses? Quite a number of the people who apply are granted a license, but not all. Do your trips leave from the U.S.? Right now any travel done to Cuba must go via a Third World country. Most of our trips go via Cancun. When we send a group, most of the people pay for the trip in the U.S. Can your clients spend money there? Yes, as the law says, up to $100 a day in living expenses. What does a typical program consist of? Trips to museums or what? It may be seminars, or visits to a museum or historic sites or places of general interest. It all depends on the focus of the trip. How much does it cost? It can never cost more than $100 per day plus our commission. Do you have trips all year long? Yes. CENTER FOR CUBAN STUDIES
We spoke with Sandra Levinson, Executive Director. Can you describe your company? We are a nonprofit, 25 years old. We arrange both tours and customized travel for individuals. How do you guide tours to Cuba? We get licenses from the Treasury Department. If people don't have a license, we have consultants they can speak with. Some of our clients need to go next week and know that it takes about a month to get a license. In that case, we offer them names and addresses of contacts in Cuba, who might be able to help them. And many of our clients are visiting for specialty purposes and need names and addresses of artists, doctors, translators and so on. So we provide them with enough information so their trip is rewarding. How are your clients classified? Almost all of them are researchers or journalists. We also have a number of Jewish trips because religious trips are licensed. And we take down a number of hosted, or invited, travelers -- for example, during the film festival, we help many invited actors and directors. A lot of well-known Hollywood people have visited this way. We will also organize custom trips -- for example, we recently arranged for Betty Friedan to meet with women's organizations in Cuba; we set her up with a translator who knows everyone in Cuba. Last word: Whatever your travel purpose and method, you can profit from boning up on Cuba before you depart. Four guidebooks worth investigating are those published by Lonely Planet, Ulysses Press, Fodor's and Insight Guides. (In my experience, Lonely Planet has always proven especially useful, but I'd recommend you browse all four to find the one that best suits your style.) And if you're interested in some great works of literature on Cuba, check out our list of recommended books.
Don't forget to join the discussion on travel to Cuba in Salon's Table Talk. - - - - - - - - - - - - Don George is the
Editor of Wanderlust. You can e-mail him at dgeorge@salonmagazine.com.
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