American tourists have been blocked from staying in more than 80 hotels in Cuba as the US government tries to prevent funds going to the Cuban military.
Individual trips have also been banned, meaning that US citizens will only be able to visit the Caribbean island as part of an organised tour arranged in the US. A representative must accompany the groups.
Under the Treasury Department rules, individual ‘people-to-people’ trips will be outlawed.
In addition there is a long list of banned shops which, like the 80 or so blacklisted hotels, are owned by the country’s largest tourism business Gaviota, which has ties to the military.
President Trump’s new rules do allow US citizens to stay in private bed-and-breakfasts and holiday rentals, but with group travel only now allowed, it is unclear how this will work in practice.
That may spell bad news for Airbnb, as Cuba is one of its fastest growing markets.
"Airbnb has been active in trying to make certain that it can claw back some of what it sees as a problem," said John Kavulich, president of the US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council. "Their biggest problem is the shift from individual to group travel."
"We have strengthened our Cuba policies to channel economic activity away from the Cuban military and to encourage the government to move toward greater political and economic freedom for the Cuban people," said treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin.
US flights and cruises have not been directly impacted by the new rules, but a travel warning advising Americans to stay away due to the so-called ‘sonic attacks’ is still in force.
