Travelocity Punished for Cuba Trips

Filed in archive Travel News on August 17, 2007

I have written about the limitations on travel to Cuba before. I recently came across some news about the subject. Gigantic online travel company Travelocity has been fined by U.S. authorities for allowing customers to book trips to Cuba on their website. In order to sell tickets to Cuba, a travel company must first apply for a license to do so. Travelocity had no such license; hence the fine.

The official complaint from the Treasury Department stated that Travelocity "provided travel-related services in which Cuba or Cuban nationals had an interest by arranging air travel and hotel reservations to, from, with or within Cuba without an OFAC license."

When will this silliness end?

With Iraq in the foreign policy spotlight for next year's U.S. elections, it seems that any changes in relations will most likely come from the Cuban side of the water. And everything depends on when Fidel Castro uses up the last of his nine lives. After that: your guess is as good as mine. At least the situation will be conducive to some sort of change....