(U.S.) Cultural trips to Cuba on schedule again as contested ‘people to people’ licenses are renewed

Source: Associated Press

Cultural trips to Cuba on schedule again as contested ‘people to people’ licenses are renewed
By Associated Press, Published: October 8

MIAMI — Travel companies say they are getting permits once again to take Americans on cultural trips to Cuba after the U.S. government tightened requirements following complaints that the tours were skirting a ban on outright tourism to the Communist island.

A month after travel companies complained of delays in processing their so-called people-to-people licenses under new restrictions for organized group travel to Cuba, at least 20 have now been granted.

U.S. travel operators say they have kept most of their itineraries intact, but some have added additional programming and eliminated others after Cuban-American Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) criticized the programs as essentially being cover-ups for tourism.

“We’re just grateful that we received the license and we can begin operating our programs again,” said Tom Popper, director of Insight Cuba, one of the groups chastised by Rubio in a Senate floor speech last December.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/cultural-trips-to-cuba-on-schedule-again-as-contested-people-to-people-licenses-are-renewed/2012/10/08/43078d1c-11b2-11e2-9a39-1f5a7f6fe945_story.html