The U.S. invasion of Cuba has begun.

Following President Obama’s steps to ease travel and trade restrictions on Cuba last year, the island has been overwhelmed by cultural visitors on the hunt for the next exotic destination. American art, entertainment and technology executives are scouring the country for new locations to shoot, new TV shows to pitch, new artists to market. Visitors with culturally enriching itineraries and bulging money belts are packing into tour buses that wobble over Havana’s torn-up streets.

At 331 Art Space in Havana, visitor traffic has gotten so heavy that it’s cutting into work hours. Adrian Fernandez, who shares the space with two other artists, said that in the past six months the studio has received guests from Facebook , Google, UPS, the Museum of Modern Art and the Smithsonian. “At least we try to have the mornings free—then people come in the afternoon—but as we have more demand that has gotten harder,” said the 31-year-old photographer.

Moves by art and culture travelers to reconnect with Cuba are far outpacing efforts to reopen business with America’s former Cold War foe. While it could take years for Congress to formally lift the trade embargo in place since the 1960s, artists and other cultural arbiters are leading the charge toward a new era in U.S.-Cuba relations.

“Culture always moves faster than the government; laws only change because the changes are already happening in real life, or need to be,” said Sara Alonso Gómez, an independent curator specializing in contemporary art from Latin and Caribbean countries.