If there is one clear point of difference
between George W. Bush and John F. Kerry involving travel policy,
it involves the U.S. stance toward Cuba.
The Bush
administrations new travel policy on visits to the communist island
nation, which went into effect this summer, prevents expatriate
Cubans and Cuban-Americans living in the U.S. from visiting family
members there more than once every three years.
The decision has
been denounced by some Cubans and lauded by others.
But it has been
controversial in a number of circles because of Bushs tactics to
further isolate Fidel Castro economically, rather than using less
confrontational methods to promote democratic reforms.
Kerry, who has
reportedly met with Cuban expatriate groups on both sides of the
issue, has indicated that he would be less likely to restrict
family travel, while still keeping most economic sanctions in
place.
There may be
votes in the controversy for Kerry from Cubans angered over the new
policy, although observers say those could be offset by hard-line
anti-Castro elements among Cuban nationals.
Regardless, many in the
travel industry say the issue is more about political ideology than
economic opportunity and that only a small travel market is
affected at the moment.
Russell Nansen,
an independent travel agent in Miami who has been booking travel
and marketing cruises in the Caribbean since before Castro seized
power, says he expects little to change in regard to Cuba travel,
no matter who is elected in November.
Cuba has never
involved retail travel to any significant degree, Nansen says. No
one wants to go there now except Cuban nationals, and the only
reason they want to go there is to see family.
Yet, says Nansen
and others, if relations between the U.S. and Cuba were to
normalize, cruise lines would be the first to point toward
Havana.
There is still a
lot of tourist infrastructure on the island, says Nansen, who said
he visited in the 1980s and met with Cuban tourism promoters. There
is a lot of history, and remarkable architecture. And there are
probably millions of U.S. travelers who would go there ... under
different circumstances.
But because of
the long history of antagonism between Castro and the U.S. and
because conservative Republican Cuban-Americans see Bushs role as
one of promoting Castros ouster as a way toward democratic reforms,
there is little change of normalization unless something
changes.
That makes any
serious investment in tourism to Cuba appear remote for a long time
to come, observers say.
William Hardman,
president and CEO of the 11-state Southeast Tourism Society, which
includes Florida, said the issue of travel to Cuba has had little
impact on the organizations policy efforts and isnt on its agenda
for the future.
There isnt really
much I could say about it at the moment, he said.
Bush has raised
the rhetoric of his anti-Castro comments recently with accusations
that Castros Cuba has turned a blind eye to child sex tourism and
child prostitution -- accusing the Castro government of exploiting
children and women for economic gain. Cuba has reportedly, however,
initiated a police crackdown on tourists who come to the island
from elsewhere in the Caribbean seeking prostitution.
To contact
reporter Dan Luzadder, send e-mail to [email protected].