TripAdvisor gets feds' OK to book travel services to Cuba

NEEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — Travel website TripAdvisor announced Friday that it can now help you book a flight to Cuba, find a place to stay there and see the attractions it has to offer.

TripAdvisor, based in Needham, is among a few companies to receive licenses from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control to facilitate travel bookings to Cuba for travelers from the U.S. and outside the U.S.

Cuba was for decades one of the toughest travel destinations for Americans because of the nations' long-term enmity.

Democratic President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced on Dec. 17, 2014, that they were restoring diplomatic ties, which were broken in 1961 after Fidel Castro took power in Cuba and installed a communist government. The easing of diplomatic relations led to easier travel between the nations, which are just 90 miles apart.

TripAdvisor said its bookings will include flights, hotels, short-term home rentals and visits to cultural attractions.