Travel To Cuba, Fame Not Required

by Chris Owen on

While travel to Cuba has come a long way recently, not everyone can visit as easily as Beyonce and Jay-Z who chose Havana as the place to celebrate their anniversary. Still, even for super stars, travel to Cuba is not like buying a ticket from New York to Chicago and there are a few hoops to jump through. But a new program by a trusted source might just be the answer for travelers who want to visit Cuba.

People to People Ambassador Programs, the educational travel experience company that sent students to Japan after the earthquake/tsunami is back with a new twist on an old way of traveling to Cuba.

People to People is the company that partnered with actress Holly Robinson Peete to award five students with travel scholarships and helped college students complete degrees with international travel programs designed to do just that.

Applying their expertise of sending students around the world for global educational experiences, People to People acquired a travel operator license from the U.S. Department of the Treasury for adult travel programs in Cuba starting in July 2013.

That travel operator license is required to satisfy requirements of the Trading with the Enemy Act, which is the major roadblock to unrestricted travel to Cuba. Exceptions to the ban are allowed by licenses issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury Department.

People to people will not be the first enterprise to do this. USA Cuba Travel specializes in travel to Cuba and arranged for over 100,000 Americans to get there last year.But People to People’s Citizen Ambassador Programs are designed not for college-age students, but for career professionals who want to get a first-hand look at Cuba for business reasons. Those “business reasons” open up an extremely wide field that many would-be travelers to Cuba can qualify for. Enrolled in medical, educational, business, law or sociology-related programs, delegates have an immersive cultural experience through the program that sounds a lot like an ecotourism trip.

Taking part in a walking tour of a village, going to a street party, interacting with locals or being part of a local community project are all bona fide activities and part of the curriculum. Being in the program, on the ground in Cuba, will also require sleeping and eating there, much like a trip to any other destination around the world.

Trips are seven nights in country with regularly schedule departures from Miami in July 2013 through December 2013. People to People programs typically cost from $4,500-7,999, depending on length, destination and itinerary but are all-inclusive. Transportation, meals, accommodations and activities are part of the deal. Good news, the price range for Cuba programs currently run $4,699-$4,999.

Not part of the deal? Cuban cigars – so here is a little video about how they are made:


Global Giveaway Sends Students Traveling Worldwide

by Chris Owen on

In July 2012, People to People Ambassador Group sent students to Japan for the first time since the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit in 2011. Partnering with MTV, People to People also ran an Act for Japan contest to give away one full tuition travel scholarship. Now the organization is partnering with actress Holly Robinson Peete to award five students with travel scholarships to participate on a People to People adventure.

Holly’s Global Giveaway will send the winners to a destination of their choice including a journey to Australia, England, France, Italy, India, China or even Antarctica.

This contest is still open, but not for long, as three out of five students have already been chosen. Submit your entry to tell People to People why you should join Holly’s Global Trekkers and see the world as a student ambassador by January 31, 2013.Peete, also a mother of four, experienced first-hand the positive impact global travel and study abroad can have on a student, and plans to send two of her own children on a People to People trip this summer.

“I had the opportunity to study abroad at a young age and I believe it is a critical component to ensuring our kids can compete in a globalized world,” said Holly Robinson Peete in a Marketwatch report. “I look forward to allowing my children the same life experience and working with People to People to send five deserving students on the trip of a lifetime.”

That’s why she’s partnered with People to People Student Ambassador Programs to give two lucky students an all-expenses paid international travel experience they’ll never forget.

Three of the five scholarships have already been awarded during Holly’s recent appearance on “The Wendy Williams Show.” These students were affected by Hurricane Sandy. Since Williams is from New Jersey, People to People wanted to help lift the spirits of these kids around the holidays.


[Photo Credit- Flickr user Satbir]