Onlinehumidor.com

I found this on another site

30 Encuentro de Amigos de Partagás November 13 – November 17

[url=https://www.facebook.com/events/184023452109757/?acontext=%7B%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D]https://www.facebook.com/events/184023452109757/?acontext=%7B%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D
[/url]

[quote author=reflex link=topic=39780.msg173518#msg173518 date=1503244004]
I found this on another site

30 Encuentro de Amigos de Partagás November 13 – November 17

[url=https://www.facebook.com/events/184023452109757/?acontext=%7B%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D]https://www.facebook.com/events/184023452109757/?acontext=%7B%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D
[/url]
[/quote]

Those are the dates I was told too, from a staff member in the Partagas shop. I had a chat with him yesterday, they don't have the final details of the event organised yet but will have them soon.
I heard somewhere that the final dinner is to return to the El Laguito Protocolo venue where it was in 2015, that would be good, it's a good room for a lot of people to sit down. Last year's venue, the Ambassadors' Room in the Habana Libre, wasn't that good. It never is for that many people.

[quote author=AnRyan link=topic=39780.msg173609#msg173609 date=1503480954]
Those are the dates I was told too, from a staff member in the Partagas shop. I had a chat with him yesterday, they don't have the final details of the event organised yet but will have them soon.
I heard somewhere that the final dinner is to return to the El Laguito Protocolo venue where it was in 2015, that would be good, it's a good room for a lot of people to sit down. Last year's venue, the Ambassadors' Room in the Habana Libre, wasn't that good. It never is for that many people.
[/quote]

Ugg, I do NOT like the Habana Libre. lol I had to leave last year on Fri because of care issues with my daughter. Missed that gala.

This will be going down. I have some guys in already. I was working on this last week in Cuba and was talking some details with Salvador for the Pinar dinner. I should have more details by the end of the week.

The official Partagas agenda is always the same. Tuesday dinner. Friday dinner. Tuesday and Wed, one day will be a beach day and the other a trip to Hectors farm in Pinar.

In Pinar we will hit Hirochi's. Hector's and Salvador's. And we planned out a trek around the back side of Corojo and San Luis to see a lot of farms with tobacco planted as well as the aging houses.

Last year, Partagas LCDH had beach day at Club Havana. You don't want this. There is no eye candy there and it is small. Playas del Este is much much larger and much much more eye candy. We will go to Club Havana, just not for the beach. :) Hopefully Partagas choses Playas del Este too, but we will see.

[quote author=Ninja link=topic=39780.msg173469#msg173469 date=1503074607]
Mark, can you clarify that question for me. What rpicing are you refering too? And by permits, I assume you mean licensing, which doesnt look to change except for the elimination of individual people to people educational exchange general licenses. So thw group tours will keep going, and anyone going individual will need to go like before Obama added the individual option.
[/quote]
I was under the impression that US Citizens cannot go as leisurely as the several years past when Obama loosened travel restrictions. I was also recently told that since Trump's speech in Miami, US travelers need to hire an official US approved cultural exchange company that tracks your time spent on the island, and the OFAC/DoT may most likely mark the SSN for an IRS tax audit on the filing calendar year. Seems pretty brutal - and certainly no actionable policies have been announced by the current administration - so wanted to see what you may know.

[quote author=mk05 link=topic=39780.msg173735#msg173735 date=1503978253]
I was under the impression that US Citizens cannot go as leisurely as the several years past when Obama loosened travel restrictions. I was also recently told that since Trump's speech in Miami, US travelers need to hire an official US approved cultural exchange company that tracks your time spent on the island, and the OFAC/DoT may most likely mark the SSN for an IRS tax audit on the filing calendar year. Seems pretty brutal - and certainly no actionable policies have been announced by the current administration - so wanted to see what you may know.
[/quote]

OK, I got where you are coming from. Let's start with Trump speech. As of right now there have been NO changes to Obama's policy. This means that anyone can do things under the same regs as earlier this year. The changes he alluded to will only go into effect AFTER the regs have been finalized. In reality, no ones knows what the exact rules are going to be yet. We have heard reports that one reason the speech was postpones from its original date was because of the internal debates and different views inside the white house. And who is in the white house seems to change every month. The administration said they would start working on the new regs 30 days after the speech with a target of having something 90 days after the speech. In reality there is no exact date or hard target for the new regs. Then it was stated that any new regs would not go into effect until 30 days after the new regs were finalized. This, as with anything, is not hard and subject to change, but appears unlikely.

Under Trump's announcement, under his proposed regs (guidelines), the individual people to people cultural exchange general licence would be eliminated. Travelers wanting to go under the people to people general licence would still be allowed to do this with a qualified tour company. In the event that these new reg would be passed before the time of the trip discussed here, it would still not be an issue because I have such a company and all traveling within the group would be covered under the new regs.

As to the part where you are hearing the DOT would target people with IRS audits, I would like to know more and where you are hearing such things. We are not hearing anything like this. In fact as someone that talks to customs and immigration a lot, and OFAC sometimes, they are just not real pressed about Cuba now. And sending out IRS hounds would seem to be counter productive and overkill if the administration really wants to curtail travel. What I think you will see, after the new regs are released, is management 101. Typically with a new rule or reg, you over monitor it in the beginning, ask travelers to justify their trip, and get the word out that you are taking it seriously. Then after focusing hard in the beginning, you can pull back and manage it normally after you have created a new environment around it.

Keep in mind that everybody is pushing back on Trump about this. Even Amnesty International and another human right group wrote officially to Trump and told him his proposals are NOT the way to accomplish what he says he wants to accomplish. Trumps history has shown a lack of hard line beliefs around the embargo. This was pay back to Rubio and Diaz-Balart for their support of his health care reform. And the biggest result is that Bastisas and the Cuban Mafia have gotten the president to set a national regulation that "requires" visiting Americans to spend all their money with private business that they, most often, have a business interest in.

I am having trouble with this administration regarding what is tangible news, because of the same lack of visibility that you have conveyed above. Also, to be clear, I am only speaking on the individual tourism front. It appears that you are saying US citizens be able to travel freely until new regulations are announced, and there will be some sort of grace period until the new regulations are set into place for good. If you have purchased itineraries before the speech, you are OK. My concern is for people purchasing itineraries NOW, until regulations are announced - this time period is not addressed. From what I have read and spoken to officials about, it seems that purchases after the speech are flagged, along with purchases after new regulation announcements. I have zero knowledge of the group travel front.

'Amnesty International'    :rotf: :rotf:

[quote author=mk05 link=topic=39780.msg173806#msg173806 date=1504243279]
I am having trouble with this administration regarding what is tangible news, because of the same lack of visibility that you have conveyed above. Also, to be clear, I am only speaking on the individual tourism front. It appears that you are saying US citizens be able to travel freely until new regulations are announced, and there will be some sort of grace period until the new regulations are set into place for good. If you have purchased itineraries before the speech, you are OK. My concern is for people purchasing itineraries NOW, until regulations are announced - this time period is not addressed. From what I have read and spoken to officials about, it seems that purchases after the speech are flagged, along with purchases after new regulation announcements. I have zero knowledge of the group travel front.
[/quote]

There is no individual tourism front.  US citizens cannot travel "freely."  The only real changes Obama made on allowing citizens to travel is that they didn't need to apply for the OFAC license in advance and need a sheet of paper to go, and that you could do individual/group People to People tours.  However, you still needed to travel under the same 12 reasons/conditions and have documentation ready if demanded, showing your entire itinerary.  Tourism was never an option.  An individual needed to go for legitimate People to People cultural reasons (if not other official ones like journalism, religious etc) and have a documented itinerary showing what you did every day.  

Now granted, this basically opened it up to anyone because you didn't need a license and could just BS your way.  I haven't heard of anyone where the Gov't went after them after the trip to "audit" their trip.  

What is the name of the qualified tour company? Many are no longer offering people to people tours. My last conversation with a charter operator is that most won't deal with it (especially with American Citizens) because of the uncertainty of the rules and don't want to get tangled up in a legal issue down the road.

Hey Ryan - you are technically correct; I meant freely travel as what you detailed above. So again, purchasing itineraries for Individual people-to-people will be invalid as of the new regulations...or currently? I just wonder what US citizen can do right now, until regulations are announced. Can they still travel via individual people-to-people until the announcement of the new regs.