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Session Submission Summary

People-to-People, State-to-State: The complicated case of U.S. -Cuba travel

Fri, May 24, 2:15 to 3:45pm, TBA

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Abstract

Travel to Cuba from the United States, particularly under the “People-to-People” designation, is increasingly misunderstood. While there is no standard definition of “People-to-People” (P2P), the concept goes back to 1956, when President Eisenhower, believing “peaceful relations between nations require understanding and mutual respect between individuals,” launched the “P2P” initiative to promote non-governmental diplomacy and interaction between people in regions perceived as having weak political and social institutions, instability, and under-development.

P2P travel was initially intended to promote democratization and regime change, but progressive nonprofit and non-governmental organizations have appropriated this term to provide cultural and educational understanding between citizens of the US and those in lesser-developed countries. Today, “people-to-people travel,” is one of the legal categories under which U.S. citizens and residents to travel to Cuba. In Cuba, the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) has been involved in People-to-People exchanges for over 50 years. In 1996 ICAP sponsored the travel agency Amistur S.A., dedicated “building people-to-people bridges”.

Comprised of travel specialists from the US and Cuba, this roundtable will begin with a discussion of the origins and goals of P2P exchanges between Cuba and the United States; next, the importance of P2P programs in guiding and promoting US-Cuba relations; then the “typical US visitor” over time and how the P2P experience changes perceptions of US travelers and Cuban hosts. The panel will conclude with an evaluation of how regulations under these programs have changed over the past 30 years and what we can expect in the future.

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