Christmas in Havana ...In Cuba, Santa's sleigh is a Boeing 737

Thousands of Cuban-Americans are heading to Havana this holiday season carrying everything from electronics and medicine to clothing and toiletries to help relatives back home supplement monthly salaries averaging about US$20.

Not only are Cuban-Americans visiting the island in far greater numbers since President Barack Obama lifted travel restrictions last year, they are bringing more stuff.

One carrier says the average bag weight per passenger is up 55 per cent - and many Miami-Havana flights are shadowed by a separate cargo plane just to haul the load.

"They bring you things for the family," said Paulo Roman Garcia, a 45-year-old Havana native who makes US$9.50 a month selling fruit at a market in the city's historic quarter.

Roman Garcia was looking forward to a visit in the New Year from his older brother, who lives in New Jersey and will be coming down with stocking-stuffers such as clothing and treats, as well as big-ticket items including a stereo.

"My son has asthma, and he's bringing inhalers for his asthma," Garcia said. "Medicines are very important. Some don't exist here, or they're hard to find."

During the administration of former President George W. Bush, Cuban-Americans were allowed to visit only once every three years and were limited to US$100 a month in remittances.

Those restrictions ended in April 2009, although most non-Cuban Americans are still barred from travelling to the island.

Cuba watchers and charter flight operators say travel between the United States and Cuba skyrocketed after the change and continues to climb steadily.

"About 1,000 visitors are arriving a day from the US, and they expect somewhere close to 400,000 by the end of the year," said Kirby Jones, president of Alamar Associates of Bethesda, Maryland, a consulting firm that works with American companies looking to do business with Cuba.

"The US is now sending the second-most visitors to Cuba than any other country," after Canada, Jones said.

The great majority are of Cuban heritage, and the rest are non-Cuban Americans travelling for officially sanctioned activities such as academic, cultural and sports exchanges.

The figure does not include the small but growing number of Americans who sidestep the travel ban by flying in through Canada, Mexico or other countries, risking a stiff US fine if they are caught.

Tom Cooper, the president and owner of Miami-based Gulfstream Air Charter, which flies a 146-seat 737 jetliner to Havana daily, said his company's passenger load has doubled from about 23,000 in 2009 to approaching 50,000 this year.

Also on the rise are baggage numbers.

The load is so great that for about half of Gulfstream's flights, the company charters a twin-turboprop cargo plane to carry the excess baggage, Cooper said.

The visits are something of a lifeline in Cuba, where, five decades after the Cuban Revolution, many basic goods that Americans take for granted are in short supply - from office supplies to clothing, make-up, aspirin, batteries and even cat food.

The Cuban government blames the 48-year US embargo, which prohibits nearly all commercial trade with the island, with the exception of food and medicine. A historically stagnant Cuban economy hasn't helped.

What goods can be had are often out of reach for average Cubans. A small 19-inch (48-centimetre) flat-screen TV can cost well over US$2,000 in the few stores that supply them.

That's far more than the cost of bringing one in from the United States, even with the US$270 import duty levied on electronics and the extra overweight charges.

- AP