The State of American Tourism: Thailand, India, and Cuba

by Brenda Yun on

The internet is abuzz with news from abroad right now. Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok remains closed; India is reeling from a devastating terrorist attack aimed at British and American tourists in Mumbai; Raúl Castro is open to ending Cuba’s 40-year feud with Washington, thereby allowing Americans to travel there more “freely.” The last thing most Americans want to do right now is travel to a place where they are not welcome. We no longer want to travel because there is a greater fear of it. The state of things as we knew them is suddenly turning on its head.

Fear exists even in the most intrepid travelers. As a solo, female traveler stepping off the plane in Vanuatu, Myanmar and Colombia last year, I had little knowledge of exactly what I was walking into. However, the one thing I have going for me every time I travel to some less-trodden destination is that, although I carry a U.S. passport, I don’t look American and I’m from a state that sits in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles from the mainland.So, when people ask where I’m from, I tell them I’m from Hawaii. Sometimes they don’t know where that is. Sometimes they think it’s a country in itself. Only rarely do they know that it is part of the United States. There’s an advantage to looking the way I do and being from where I am: They don’t have to know I’m American. But plenty of Americans cannot hide behind their fair skin, accent, or residence, so most stay at home for fear of the unknown.

As of late, I have become increasingly interested in news from Cuba. My friend and I are planning a trip there early next year and quickly discovered a lack of resources and general antipathy for American tourism in Castro country. We hope to help out for a week in Cuba with hurricane relief, but even a complex Google search for “volunteer in Cuba” came up empty. The message coming from Cuba is clear: “We don’t want help from Americans. Stay out of our country.” This message is increasingly resounding around the globe, and the state of American tourism is, I would say, grim right now — and the hope that Obama can turn things around come January just isn’t enough to quell our fears.

U.K. Travel Insurer: Cuba as Dangerous as Afghanistan

by Josh Lew on

U.K travel insurance company Direct Travel Insurance Services has a blacklist. If a traveler is headed to Sudan or Afghanistan, they will need to seek their insurance elsewhere. But Cuba?

That’s right, Cuba. The insurer will not cover British travelers headed to Cuba. Perhaps someone in the company thinks that it is still the 1950s. Or perhaps someone in the company was robbed during a recent vacation in Havana. But that’s unlikely. Cuba is, arguably, one of the safest destinations in the entire Caribbean. Crime is virtually not-existent. It is much more dangerous to vacation on more popular islands like Jamaica.

But there is a more probable reason that English travelers are not able to get coverage for Cuba: AIG. The American firm took over Direct Travel Insurance Services and has extended its practices of not insuring Americans in Cuba to its new British customers.

Because of an archaic trade embargo, US citizens are not allowed to visit Cuba. thus AIG does not cover them. But there is no such law in England. Luckily for UK residents, there are many other travel insurers willing to cover tourists on their trip to Cuba.

[Via Havana Journal]

Gadling Take FIVE: Week of Nov. 15—Nov. 21

by Jamie Rhein on

Where I’m sitting winter has arrived. Snow flurries and windchill. Brrrr. Now that winter looks like it’s settling in, let’s see if anyone has come up with places to that are warmer.

  • Brenda’s post on the drop in tourism in Hawaii. and what there is to do in this tropical paradise this time of year, ought to be reason enough for a person to rethink the budget and see if Hawaii is doable after all.
  • Meg suggests sitting in the scariest swimming pool ever–Devil’s Pool at the top of Victoria Falls
  • Jeffery pointed out that Cuba knows how to treat its 2 millionth tourist--with an ice-cold mojito and a salsa band
  • Along with the warning that snacks in India could cost more than you counted on, Josh sounded a warning to be careful of the party scene in Mumbai–you could find yourself drug tested.
  • And, although New Mexico is not THAT warm, the great thing about traveling here to ski is that it feels warm during the day when the sun is out–kind of. The best part is that the sun almost always shines in New Mexico. Every day. All day.

Air Canada passengers greeted in Havana with mojitos

by Jeffrey White on

If you were on Air Canada flight 370 flying from Toronto to Havana, Cuba, this past Friday — and let’s face it, you probably aren’t from the US — then you were greeted with a nice surprise upon arrival: ice cold, strong mojitos.

Cuba celebrated its 2 millionth tourist of the year on Friday. The country pulled out all the stops, throwing an airport cocktail party complete with a salsa band and welcome banners. Similar parties were held in the eastern city of Santiago and the beach resort of Varadero.

Tourist authorities in Cuba made a big deal out of it because while the country has surpassed 2 million tourists annually since 2004, this was the earliest point at which it hit this milestone.

The record for tourist visits to Cuba is 2.3 million, set three years ago. Tourist officials say they’ll pass that mark this year.

And here’s hoping the US may soon lift its pointless, anachronistic (not to mention ineffectual) embargo so that more Americans can be among those enjoying what Cuba has to offer. Who comprises the tourists traveling to Cuba these days? Canada, Britain, Spain and Italy are the island’s top sources of visitors, says the Associated Press.

Where did the commies go?

by Grant Martin on

With September came the near fall of another Communitst leader, as Kim Jong Il, dictator over North Korea vanished from the limelight, joining his Cuban counterpart Fidel Castro in the murky depths of unknown, fiercely hidden ailments.

The realist in me knows that both leaders are gravely ill. Kim Jong Il is said to have suffered a stroke early this month and hasn’t since been seen in public — even for state celebrations. In a similar light, Castro, who seems to have largely recovered from last year’s digestive problems, has resigned from his official state role in Cuban politics and now stays largely out of the public eye — no doubt because he is still an aging, fragile man.

But the conspiracy theorist in my has broader, more hopeful aspirations. I think about these two ailing leaders and wonder if perhaps, Communism has taken a toll on them over these last years and if maybe they’ve finally thrown in the towel and headed out to the beach for some good old vaycay.

I see Kim Jong and Fidel sitting on chaise lounges in the Indonesian Archipelago somewhere, bare feet up and drinking out of coconuts while looking out at the setting sun over a crisp, white beach. And Kim Jong looks over, out of his massive blue blockers at Fidel as the Cuban puts down his latest Harry Potter book to take a pull off his strawberry daiquiri. And Kim says, “Hey buddy… we gave it a shot.”

Wherever you two are, know this: I would take two old school Communist evil doers over one rambunctious Latin American president any day of the week. May your countries be open and peaceful and prosperous without you.