Cuba is situated in the northern Caribbean. The capital of Havana is about 60 miles south of Key West in Florida. The island was a Spanish colony from the discovery by Columbus in 1492 to liberation in 1898. A succession of governments, several of them dictatorships, were eventually replaced by the revolutionary government of Fidel Castro in 1959.
The U.S. enacted an embargo against Cuba in 1960, which was further strengthened in 1962, and remains in force. The Cuban Asset Control Regulations, are enforced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. They apply to all U.S. citizens and permanent residents, who have to be licensed in order to travel to Cuba.
The U.S. does not license tourist travel to the country. This also prohibits U.S. subjects from traveling there from third countries such as Mexico or Canada. To violate these restrictions is a civil offense.
Despite the embargo on tourist travel for U.S. subjects, there are a number of exemptions under which it is permitted to travel to Cuba. These broadly fall in a few categories: visiting relatives, journalism, study or research and religious or humanitarian visits. The Cuban government must issue a visa for entry to the country.
Tourism is major industry in Cuba. Almost 2 million visitors per year, primarily from Canada and Europe, visit the country. Canada is Cuba’s largest source of tourism revenue because Canada does not have any restrictions on tourism or imports from Cuba. The tourism card issued by the Cuban authorities is valid for 30 days for most visitors, but for 90 days for Canadians. It is included with the purchase of a plane ticket.
While there are no direct flights from the U.S. to Cuba, there are several airlines which offer flights from other countries, particularly Canada. Cubana and Air Canada have regular flights from Montreal and Toronto to Havana, and there are also several charter operators.
Several European airlines also fly directly to Cuba from major European airports. There are flights from Mexico City and Cancun in Mexico to Cuba, as well as from Grand Cayman. In addition, there are flights to Miami and New York in the U.S., operated as Special Authority Charters.
