Update Nov. 20, 2009

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Chicago, IL, November 10, 2009 — The OpenCuba.org campaign (www.OpenCuba.org) today announced that it has passed the important milestone of receiving 100,000 signatures from petitioners calling on the U.S. government to restore to all Americans the freedom and right to travel to Cuba. Today Cuba is the only country in the world to which Americans are banned from traveling.

 ”Never before in the history of the U.S. ban on travel to Cuba has there been such an upwelling of popular support for change,” said Barney Harford, president and CEO of Orbitz Worldwide, which launched the OpenCuba.org campaign. “The bipartisan Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act, which is being considered by the House and Senate this session, already has 180 congressional and 32 senatorial co-sponsors. The 100,000 OpenCuba.org petitioners are sending a powerful message to U.S. lawmakers and President Obama that the time to act is now.”

Americans are currently banned from traveling to Cuba. Cuba is the only country in the world covered by such travel restrictions. Americans today are free to travel to any other country, including countries such as Iran, Libya and North Korea.

Since launching in May, OpenCuba.org has received endorsements from Cuban-American groups including the Cuban American Alliance Education Fund, the Cuban American Commission for Family Rights and Friends of Caritas Cubana. Cuban-American leaders believe that the ban should be lifted in order to encourage the exchange of ideas between the people of the United States and Cuba. “U.S. citizens should have the right to travel to Cuba in order to serve as ambassadors for the values, ideals and freedoms that the United States represents,” said Delvis Fernández Levy, President and Acting Executive Director of the Cuban American Alliance Education Fund.

The OpenCuba.org campaign also has received endorsements from a broad range of non-governmental organizations, industry trade associations and travel companies including:

• National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org)
• USA*Engage (www.usaengage.org)
• Fund for Reconciliation and Development (www.ffrd.org)
• NAFSA: Association of International Educators (www.nafsa.org)
• National Tour Association (www.ntaonline.com)
• United States Tour Operators Association (www.ustoa.com)
• Adventure Travel Trade Association (www.adventuretravel.biz)
• iExplore.com (www.iexplore.com)

“U.S. lawmakers and President Obama have a historic opportunity in front of them to restore the right and freedom of all Americans to visit Cuba,” said Jake Colvin, vice president, National Foreign Trade Council. “This is a strong reflection of the grassroots support that exists for the complete removal of U.S. travel restrictions.”

For more information on the OpenCuba campaign and to add your support visit www.OpenCuba.org.

The GAO, U.S. Government Accountability Office, released a report last week that details the new regulations. They include authorizing family travel under a general license rather than a specific license. The report notes that the President can authorize travel under a general license for non-family travelers, such as freelance journalists, professional researchers and full-time students. See full report

If you believe in giving all Americans the freedom to travel to Cuba, we encourage you to sign our petition urging lawmakers to end the 50-year-old travel ban.

Del Toro was in the Cuban capital to accept an award from a local film group for his portrayal of Ernesto “Che” Guevara in the 2008 picture “Che.” The other three stars, accompanied by Hollywood producer Steve Bing, were in Cuba for an unnamed research project.

Despite the travel restrictions on Cuba, many celebrities have visited the country in past years. This recent visit, however, comes after a pledge from the Obama administration to improve Cuban/American relations. Read the full story

Travel is the perfect freedom. Through travel, Americans can see the world, experience new cultures, and gain a greater understanding of the people and places around them. Since 1982, ordinary American tourists have not been allowed to travel to Cuba. The National Tour Association, an organization of nearly 4,000 travel professionals from all over the world, believes that the federal government should not restrict travel on the basis of political ideology. Cuba offers natural beauty, colonial architecture and unique culture that all travelers should be able to experience.

Because most Americans have never traveled to Cuba, there is a huge interest in this destination. A recent poll by CNN shows that two-thirds of Americans surveyed think the U.S. should lift the travel ban, and three-quarters think the U.S. should end its estrangement with the country. NTA agrees with the findings of this poll and will continue to take steps to ensure all Americans have the freedom to travel wherever they choose.

Legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate to lift the travel ban to Cuba. President Obama has already ended restrictions on travel to Cuba by Cuban-American relatives of residents of Cuba. NTA will continue to support the right of all Americans to travel to Cuba. If you believe it is your right to travel anywhere in the world, urge your Congressman to support travel to Cuba by signing this petition.

Since its launch on May 11, the campaign has attracted a broad spectrum of support. Endorsements have rolled in from the Cuban American Alliance Education Fund, the Cuban American Commission for Family Rights, the National Federation Trade Council, the Adventure Travel Trade Association, and other organizations. See all endorsements 

Barney Harford, President and CEO of Orbitz Worldwide, is planning to deliver the petition to U.S. lawmakers and government officials later this year. Both houses of Congress are considering bills that would end the 50-year travel ban.

News of the petition reaching 50,000 signatures reinforces results from a recent Orbitz-Ipsos poll that shows 67% of Americans say that they would support a policy that would allow all Americans to travel to Cuba. Furthermore, 72% agree that expanding travel and tourism from the U.S. to Cuba would have a positive impact on the day-to-day lives of the Cuban people. More about the poll

Human Rights Watch also advocates opening travel to Cuba, and we hope you will too. Please sign the petition and email 5 of your friends about it too. We believe passionately in the power of travel to transform lives. And we believe that people should have the freedom to travel wherever they choose.

Chances are, if you are an American citizen, you can pack your bags for a propaganda-filled tour of North Korea but you cannot order up a daiquiri at El Floridita, the bar Ernest Hemingway made famous in Old Havana.  Cuba, it turns out, is the only country on earth that U.S. citizens are largely prohibited from visiting.

Americans are free to travel to countries like Iran, North Korea and Sudan, assuming they can get a visa from their bad actor of choice, but cannot hop on a plane to Cuba thanks to U.S. sanctions.  Perhaps it is time to rethink our approach and open Cuba to American tourists.

There is no shortage of good reasons for allowing Americans to travel to Cuba.  By far the best is that the United States should not be in the business of restricting the right of its citizens to choose where they want to travel.  As President Reagan liked to say, America is the shining city on a hill and the world’s eyes remain focused upon us.  Limiting the freedom of American citizens in an effort to advance the cause of liberty in Cuba is an Orwellian anomaly in U.S. foreign policy that ought to be corrected immediately.   We undermine the cause of freedom abroad when we restrict it here at home.

Americans are extraordinary ambassadors to the world. Restricting travel to Cuba severely limits the positive impact Americans can have abroad through everyday activities and interactions.  Travel promotes understanding, respect and shared values, which is good for Cubans and Americans alike.  “Travel,” observed Mark Twain, “is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on those accounts.”

Boost to ordinary Cubans, travel industry

Travel by American citizens would directly benefit the Cuban people.  American travelers would help put more money in the hands of ordinary Cubans who work in the hospitality industry in Cuba.  While some tourist dollars would undoubtedly benefit the Castro regime, many more would help ordinary Cuban citizens provide for themselves and their families.

From a business perspective, restoring tourist travel to Cuba would benefit U.S. airlines, cruise ships and tour operators and could create thousands of jobs in the travel industry immediately.  Estimates suggest up to a million travelers could visit Cuba annually from the United States once restrictions are removed.  Resuming travel to Cuba could potentially boost demand for certain American products like beef, soft drinks, wine and potato chips, which are permitted to be exported to Cuba under an exemption to U.S. sanctions.

Current travel restrictions also place a tremendous burden on the same taxpayer dollars that are allocated to investigate al Qaeda and keep international terrorists and criminals out of the United States.  A 2007 U.S. Government report concluded that inspections of travelers arriving from Cuba may strain efforts to keep out terrorists and criminals from entering the country.  Eliminating the travel ban would allow the U.S. government to redeploy its resources to tackle more urgent pursuits.

‘Send a positive signal internationally’

Finally, changing course on U.S. Cuba policy would boost America’s image in the world, particularly in Latin America.  Leaders of Argentina, Brazil and other nations have made clear to President Obama that a new U.S. approach to Cuba is a priority for the hemisphere.  Removing travel restrictions is an easy way to send a positive signal internationally.

Congress has introduced legislation known as the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act, which would restore the ability of Americans to travel to Cuba.  President Obama should make clear his support for this effort, and leaders in Congress should ensure that the legislation is voted on this year.

Travel writer Bill Bryson once commented that, “I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything.”  Decades of restrictions on travel to Cuba have left most Americans with little knowledge of the island, which sits just 90 miles from the shores of the United States.

It is time to unlock the sense of wonder for American citizens and end the ban on travel to Cuba.

Jake Colvin is Vice President of Global Trade Issues for the National Foreign Trade Council, a business association in Washington, DC and New York.

“Greater connections,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told the New York Times, “can lead to a better, freer future for the Cuban people. These talks are in the interest of the United States, and they are also in the interest of the Cuban people.” Read the full story

This position has resonated strongly with Cuban American groups, non-governmental organizations and other travel industry participants. We are proud to announce the endorsements of OpenCuba.org by the following organizations:

• Adventure Travel Trade Association
• Cuban American Alliance Education Fund
• Cuban American Commission for Family Rights
• iExplore.com
• National Foreign Trade Council
• USA*Engage

 
If your organization wants to endorse the campaign, email our vice president of government affairs, Brian Hoyt, at bhoyt@orbitz.com.

Please sign the petition and email 5 of your friends about it too.