Howdy nelson-ga,
Apologies on the delay, but I wanted to dig up a few more references
before posting this Answer.
Annually, there are around 2 million visitors to Cuba, but the majority
are not Americans. If the ban was lifted, it appears that there would
be at least a million American visitors to Cuba.
Some numbers from "Senate defies Bush on Cuban travel" by Mary Murray
(NBC NEWS) - Oct. 23 [2003] from the MSNBC web site.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/984224.asp?0cv=CB10&cp1=1
"This year the island will service almost 2 million tourists, most from
Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, France and Britain. Most industry experts
believe at least 1 million Americans would visit Cuba in the first year
of unrestricted travel and that the number could grow to 2.8 million
Americans per year.
...
Some 160,000 Americans ? mostly Cuban-Americans visiting family ? traveled
legally to the island last year. In addition, an estimated 30,000 visited
Cuba without permission from the Treasury Department, sneaking into Cuba
through third countries such as Jamaica, Canada and the Bahamas."
A Washington Times article by Tom Carter dated January 25, 2004 and titled
"U.S. clamping down on Americans' visits to Havana" sites similar figures
and gives details on numbers of legal/illegal visits, numbers of people
that were notified about being suspected of breaking the law, etc.
http://www.washtimes.com/world/20040125-123059-1221r.htm
"Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border and transportation security in
the Department of Homeland Security, said in December that his department
had examined 54,000 passengers traveling to Cuba to ensure that they were
properly authorized ..."
...
"He said 171 persons had been denied permission to travel and 44 persons
returning to the United States after visiting Cuba face civil prosecution."
...
"In 2000, the Office of Foreign Assets Control sent 'pre-penalty notices'
to 188 Americans suspected of traveling illegally to Cuba. The number
jumped to 697 in 2001, but as word of the increased enforcement got out,
it dropped to 447 in 2002 and 350 in the past year."
...
"According to Mr. Kavulich, 156,000 Americans visit Cuba each year, almost
90 percent of them Cuban-Americans making authorized visits home. A small
number of journalists, academics, businessmen and humanitarian and religious
groups also make 'licensed' visits.
However, 22,000 to 25,000 Americans travel to Cuba illegally, either as
political activists or simply as tourists looking for a cheap Caribbean
vacation. Most travel to Cuba through a third country, often on vacation
packages from Canada or Mexico."
An abstract of "Cuba: potential or potential threat" published in the
Journal of the Academy of Business and Economics, Feb, 2003 and written
by Hilary M. Becker goes into depth on the socio-economic impact of the
U.S. Cuban embargo. If you are interested in such things, this is a great
rescource. From the LookSmart web site.
http://articles.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0OGT/is_2_1/ai_113563608/pg_3
"Of the nearly 2 million tourists visiting Cuba, only 200,000 came via
cruise ships, mostly operated by European cruise lines into Havana"
The "Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de la República de Cuba" (Ministry
of Exterior Relations of the Republic of Cuba) claims the crackdown might
be worse that the reports above report.
http://www.cubaminrex.cu/English/libro%20blanco/paginas%20ingles/parte%202_cap%205%20ingl%E9s.htm
"US federal agents have tightened up the measures against travel to Cuba:
over 1,226 US citizens have received a letter from the Office of Foreign
Assets Control (OFAC), twice as many as in the last four years of the
Clinton administration. These notices represent the first stage in a legal
process against US citizens for infringing Treasury Department regulations
on travel to Cuba, an offence that can carry a fine of thousands of dollars
and even lead to imprisonment. On instructions from the White House, the
Department of Homeland Security has committed its intelligence resources to
detection of illegal trips to Cuba."
From the above, we can get a clue on how some, if not most Americans are
caught visiting Cuba illegally. By examining the pattern of places visited,
such as someone who travels to the Bahamas via Canada, some people are caught.
If one travels through Canada or Mexico, there might be some cooperation of
those countries with the US. I also imagine that a fair number bring back
Cuban products and are caught through customs that way. Also, there are some
that apply to go, are refused and travel to Cuba anyway. As they are probably
on some "watch" list after being denied, not a very smart thing to do.
If you need any clarification, feel free to ask.
Search Strategy:
Google search on: "Americans visit Cuba"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22Americans+visit+Cuba%22
Google search on: "2 million tourists" Cuba
://www.google.com/search?q=%222+million+tourists%22+Cuba
Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher |
