Cuba Journal 
The second Startup Weekend Havana is planned for August 5-7 in Havana. Startup Weekend organizes high-impact, experiential events that foster entrepreneurship and community building in every corner of the world. As of last year, the organization hosted 200,00 budding entrepreneurs at 2,900 Startup Weekend events, in 501 cities, and in 150 countries. The organization’s 54-hour … Read more
Peggy Goldman is one of the top Cuba travel experts and specialty tour operators, serving as president and co-owner of Friendly Planet Travel, making Cuba travel even easier. Cuba Journal recently spoke with Goldman about a range of subjects, including her favorite places in Havana. Here are her picks for must-visit sites. The garden and … Read more
As more and more Americans are flocking to Cuba following the lifting of the international travel ban, many are opting for the experience of life with a local host through channels like Homestay.com. The online marketplace is reporting growth in Cuba, with more travelers looking to rent rooms in private homes, with hosts present throughout … Read more
According to Cuban officials, the island has been visited by 2 million foreign tourists so far in 2016, 11.9% more than in the same period in 2015. Cuba has achieved 2 million visitors 27 days earlier than last year, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Canada continues as the leading source of tourists, followed by … Read more
The US Senate Appropriations Committee adopted four separate amendments related to travel and trade with Cuba. Amendment lifting travel ban The amendment ending the travel ban allows Americans to travel to the one country in the world to which the US prohibits Americans to travel to freely, Cuba. Committee passage of this amendment follows the US Department of Transportation’s announcement … Read more
As Fast and Furious 8 finished up filming in Cuba in April, a small team from the next iteration of Transformers arrived to complete a much smaller scale shoot in the island nation. Related: This US company becomes first to be authorized to provide film and broadcasting services on the ground in Cuba In a … Read more
Over the years, although US lawmakers have agreed on the overall objectives of US policy toward Cuba – to help bring democracy and respect for human rights to the island – there have been several schools of thought about how to achieve those objectives. Some have advocated a policy of keeping maximum pressure on the … Read more
The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) have made five sets of amendments to their respective Cuba sanctions regulations since the various Cuba policy changes announced by the President beginning in 2014. OFAC introduced a provision in 2015 … Read more
On Monday, US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Cuba’s Ministry of Public Health, an important milestone between the two countries since the re-establishment of diplomatic relations in 2015. The MOU establishes coordination across a broad spectrum of public health issues, including global … Read more
A small regional bank with a big idea about banking in Cuba just issued the first US credit card that functions in Cuba. Stonegate Bank made headlines last year when it become the first US bank to establish a correspondent banking relationship in Cuba since Washington and Havana normalized relations. While it has been technically … Read more
