Washington ( CNN ) -- President Barack Obama could be among the Americans traveling to Cuba now that restrictions on passage to the island are being loosened . The White House said Wednesday it was n't ruling out a presidential visit to Cuba now that diplomatic relations with the United States have been restored . `` I assume , like many Americans , he has seen that Cuba is a place where they have a beautiful climate and a lot of fun things to do , '' White House press secretary Josh Earnest said . `` If there 's an opportunity for the President to visit I 'm sure that he would n't turn it down . '' The Obama administration on Wednesday said it was easing restrictions on certain types of travel to Cuba , including visits to family members , trips by journalists and religious activities . But the new rules still do not permit U.S. tourists to visit the island . A visit by the President to Cuba would be historic ; even a phone call between Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro on Tuesday marked the first presidential engagement between the two nations since the Cuban Revolution . Obama said Wednesday that high-ranking U.S. officials would visit Cuba soon to begin to establish a presence there . Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker will travel there in the near future , and Secretary of State John Kerry said he looked `` forward to being the first secretary of state in 60 years to visit Cuba . ''
The White House would n't rule out a possible presidential visit to Cuba . President Barack Obama announced a series of changes aimed at improving U.S.-Cuban relations on Wednesday .