Tourism in Cuba is an industry that generates over 4.5 million arrivals by 2017, and is one of the main sources of revenue for the island. With a favorable climate, beaches, colonial architecture and different cultural history, Cuba has long been an attractive destination for tourists. "Cuba holds 253 protected areas, 257 national monuments, 7 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 7 Nature Biosphere Reserves and 13 Fauna Protection among other non-tourist zones."
After Spain's closest colony to the United States until 1898, in the first part of the 20th century Cuba continued to benefit from large investments, industrial creation, and travel. Its proximity and close ties to the United States also helped the Cuban market economy develop rapidly. As relations between Cuba and the United States deteriorated rapidly after the Cuban Revolution and the takeover and business nationalization, the island was cut off from its traditional market with embargoes and travel restrictions imposed on US citizens visiting Cuba. The tourism industry refused to record low levels within two years after Castro's accession to power. Unlike the United States, Canada normalized relations with Cuba in the 1910s and Canada increasingly visited Cuba for the holidays. About a third of visitors to Cuba each year (in 2014) are Canadians. The Cuban government has moderated the nationalization policy and allowed for private business since 1980. He is also pursuing revitalization programs aimed at improving tourism. The United States is rebuilding diplomatic relations with Cuba by 2015 and the tourism industry is expected to greatly benefit from normal relations with the United States in the near future.
Video Tourism in Cuba
Ikhtisar
Until 1997, contact between tourists and Cubans was de facto banned by the Communist regime. After the collapse of Cuba's main trading partner, Soviet Union, and the resulting economic crisis known as the Special Period, the Cuban government embarked on a major program to restore old hotels, abandoning old American pre-communist cars, and restore some Havana roads to the region they. former heyday, as well as building a beach resort to boost the tourism industry to bring much needed finance to the island. To ensure the isolation of international tourism from isolated Cuban societies, it should be promoted in pockets where, as much as possible, travelers will be separated from Cuban society, known as "pocket tourism" and "apartheid tourism". In the late 1990s, tourism surpassed Cuba's traditional export industries, sugar, as the country's main source of income. Visitors come mainly from Canada and Western Europe and the highly concentrated tourist area around Varadero, Cayo Coco, the beach area in northern Holguin, and Havana. Its impact on Cuban socialist society and the economy has been significant. However, in recent years Cuba tourism has declined due to economic recession, increased conflicts and fears of foreign investment, and internal economic restrictions. Since reopening for tourism in the mid-1990s, Cuba has not achieved projected growth, has relatively little recovery, and slow growth. Lack of foreign investment also has a negative effect. Since then, the Dominican Republic has surpassed Cuba in tourism, new development, and investment.
Maps Tourism in Cuba
History
Cuba has long been a popular attraction for tourists. Between 1915 and 1930, Havana entertained more tourists than any other location in the Caribbean. The entry is largely due to Cuba's closeness to the United States, where the harsh ban on alcohol and other entertainment contrasts sharply with the island's traditional relaxed attitude towards leisure activities. This tourism became Cuba's third largest foreign exchange source, behind two dominant industries of sugar and tobacco. Cuban drinks such as daiquiri and mojito became common in the United States during this time, after the Prohibition was revoked.
The combination of the Great Depression of the 1930s, the end of the ban, and World War II greatly weakened the Cuban tourism industry, and only in the 1950s that number began to return to the island with significant strength. During this period, American organized crime dominated the leisure and tourism industry, a modus operandi outlined at the famous Havana Conference in 1946. In the mid-1950s Havana became one of the main markets and favorite routes for the narcotics trade to the United States. Nonetheless, the number of tourists is growing steadily at a rate of 8% per year and Havana is known as "the Latin Las Vegas".
Immediately after becoming President of Cuba after the Cuban revolution of 1959, Manuel Urrutia ordered the closure of many bars and gambling halls associated with prostitution and drug trafficking, effectively ending Cuba's image as a hedonistic escape. A new governing body, National Institute of Tourism Industry (INTUR), was established to encourage more tourism; taking over hotels, clubs and beaches makes them available to the general public at low prices. Head of tourism cruise Carlos Almonia announced a major investment program at the hotel and the creation of a new airport. But concerns over Cuban post-revolutionary status among Americans, who make up 8 out of 10 visitors, mean a rapid decline on the way to the island.
In January 1961, relations between countries deteriorated as a result of banks and business takeovers, mass exoduses, executions, and private property declared illegal by the communist regime which is now openly supported by the Soviet Union. Travel trips to Cuba were immediately declared by the US State Department for conflict with U.S. foreign policy. and contrary to the national interest. Tourism that year dropped to a record low of just 4180, forcing a dramatic decline in Cuban tourist plans. Visitors to Cuba during the 1960s, 70s and 80s were relatively rare. The number of tourists to the island increased slowly, but only in 1989 they were equal to the number of pre-Revolution.
The fall of the communist regime in Eastern Europe in 1989 and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 caused a crisis in the Cuban economy. The Soviets are Cuba's main trading partner, and have effectively protected the Cuban sugar industry with a large subsidy for 30 years. The lack of economic diversification during this period, and the sudden loss of key markets sent the country into a depth of deep-seated economy known in Cuba as a Special Period. The crisis accelerated the communist regime to find new ways of income.
Policies are structured to meet the growth of Canadian and European tourist markets in order to replace Cuba's dependence on the sugar industry and earn the much-needed foreign currency quickly. A new Tourism Ministry was formed in 1994, and many Cuban countries are investing in tourist facilities. Between 1990 and 2000, more than $ 3.5 billion was invested in the tourism industry. The number of rooms available to international travelers grew from 12,000 to 35,000, and the state received a total of 10 million visitors during that period. In 1995, the industry had surpassed sugar as Cuba's main producer.
Today, travelers from all over the world visit Cuba, arriving with a mix of scheduled flights and charters to one of ten Cuban international airports. By far the largest number comes from Canada, where arrivals have risen almost 10% annually since 2007. Europe follows the next, mainly arriving from the UK, Spain, Italy, France and Germany. According to official government agencies, it is not known exactly how many Americans are traveling to Cuba every year as tourists, in violation of US trade policy. According to some statistics about 20,000 to 30,000 Americans illegally travel to Cuba each year, while the Cuban government places them higher in more than 60,000 people. Americans either fly on direct charter flights or reach Cuba via flights from Canada or Mexico. In June 2016, the US government authorized six airlines to start direct scheduled flights. This was later repealed by Trump in 2017.
Until 2015, all visitors pay out $ 25 taxes at the airport before departure but this is now included in the flight fee.
Visitors
Foreign investment
Foreign investment in the Cuban tourism sector has been steadily rising since tourism travel. This has been possible because of constitutional changes to the Cuban socialist command economy, to allow recognition of foreign capital. In the late 1990s, twenty-five foreign and domestic joint ventures worked in the Cuban tourism industry. Foreign investors and business actors from a market-based economy have found that centralized Cuban economics and bureaucracy have created more specialized personnel and higher-cost issues than usual. An additional factor cited by foreign investors is the level of state involvement at the executive level, which is much higher than the average.
The entry of foreign capital, and the associated capitalist management methods, leads outside observers to question whether Cuba's socialist system can withstand the resulting transformation. Fidel Castro responded in 1991,
"In the conditions of a small country like Cuba... It is very difficult to develop... rely on its own resources, for this reason we have no alternative but to associate ourselves with foreign companies that can supply capital, technology, and markets."
Castro also believed that apart from the undeniable influence of the "capitalist ideology", socialism would prevail in Cuba as well as the broader "idea struggle".
Tourism and environment
The Cuban government has established a safeguard framework designed to ensure that tourism and other development do not produce significant environmental impacts. The development of new tourism facilities and associated infrastructure in Cuba should, inter alia, be continued in accordance with Cuba's environmental laws and policies. In 1995, the Cuban government established the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment (CITMA) and in 1997 the National Assembly enacted Law No. 81 of the Environment, one of the most comprehensive "framework" environmental laws in the region. Under the law, the government adopted a number of decision and resolution laws aimed at ensuring that future development (including sustainable tourism development). Particularly important for tourism development is Decree Law 212, Coastal Management, which regulates setbacks and other site determination requirements for new facilities in coastal areas. Resolution CITMA 77/99 requires a thorough environmental assessment of new construction projects and requires that project developers obtain an environmental license from CITMA.
Tourism by sector
Health tour
As well as receiving traditional tourism revenue, Cuba attracts health tourists, generating an annual income of about $ 40 million for the Cuban economy. Cuba has been a popular health tourism destination for over 20 years. In 2005, more than 19,600 foreign patients traveled to Cuba for a variety of treatments including eye surgery, neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, and orthopedics. Many patients are from Latin America, although medical care for retinitis pigmentosa, often known as night blindness, has attracted many patients from Europe and North America.
Some complaints have emerged that foreigner "health tourists" who pay with dollars receive better quality care than Cubans. Former prominent Cuban surgeon and surgery, Dr. Hilda Molina insists that the revolutionary goal of a free and quality health care center for all has been eroded by Cuba's need for foreign currency. Molina said that after the economic collapse known in Cuba as the Special Period, the Cuban government established a mechanism designed to transform the medical system into a profit-generating company, thus creating a difference in the quality of health care between Cubans and foreigners.
Mountain tour
Recent studies show that Cuba has great potential for mountain climbing activities, but is not utilized properly. Mountain climbing in Cuba should be regarded as one of the main contributors (as well as other forms of active tourism such as cycling, diving, caving) for the development, prosperity and wellbeing of all stakeholders, and especially for people outside the enclave of tourism. Furthermore, the climbing area is largely outside the enclave, so there is no conflict between active tourism and all inclusive. And the most important is the diversification of tourism products (both products and spatial) can be achieved. Furthermore, by creating links to spatial and thematic products and synergies (as well as all inclusive tourism), mountain climbing, as well as other forms of active tourism (eg cycling, diving, caving) often flourish at the destination.
Sex tourism
Although Fidel Castro sought to wipe out prostitution after taking power, the distinction between Cuban salary (less than a dollar per day) and foreign tourist spending lured some Cubans, including minors, into prostitution. However, allegations of widespread sex tourism have been underestimated by Cuban justice minister Maria Esther Reus. According to the Miami Herald, prostitution is not illegal in Cuba, but procurement of prostitutes for others is prohibited. The age of sexual consent on the island is 16. According to the travel advice website by the Canadian government, "Cuba is actively working to prevent child sex tourism, and a number of tourists, including Canada, have been convicted of offenses related to corruption of minors aged 16 down, imprisonment ranging from 7 to 25. "It is illegal to import or produce pornography in Cuba.
While tourism growth has benefited Havana economically, there are some negative side effects. One side effect is the rise of sex tourism in the city. Sex tourism is a central part of the tourism industry before the Revolution. However, after 1960, prostitution was essentially eradicated on the island due to government initiatives and a significant drop in demand due to tourism being minimized. However, with the growing popularity of tourism in the 1990s, so did the practice of prostitution. Demographic profile of tourists (majority of men between the ages of 25-60 years) is the main indicator of the existence of prostitution. In addition, websites and magazines, such as Playboy, have outlined opportunities for heterosexual and homosexual sex tourism. According to Trumbull, many prostitutes engage in practices outside of the economic need, but they do not work under oppressive conditions and a large number of prostitutes in contemporary Havana see jobs as a way to gain a better life than if they work in opening jobs across the city. Therefore, contemporary prostitution differs from sex tourism of the 1950s in this regard.
Tourism: Economic Reform
Cuba remains one of the few countries with economies founded by a centralized government. Among these countries, only Cuba has a large international tourism sector. The fall of the Soviet Union and the US embargo imposed in 1961 affected the Cuban tourism sector. Cuba relied on the Soviet Union and after its collapse saw tourism as an option to reduce the impact of the crisis. The number of Cuban tours began to decline during the 1960s to the 1980s due to the US embargo during the Cold War. In addition, nearly 62,000 tourists traveled to Cuba in 1960, 4180 tourists in 1961 and then almost zero over the next 20 years. Also, new hotels are being built and old hotels are being renovated to attract more international visitors. When Raul Castro rose to power in 2008, he implemented infrastructure reforms to help reduce the effects of the Cuban revolution. The Cuban government is building a beach resort to expand tourism. Castro's reform policy led to an increase in tourism and a major economic success in Cuba. In fact 2.7 million people visited Cuba in 2011, while only 340,000 people toured Cuba in 1990. National GDP increased from 30.69 billion in 2002 to 114.10 billion in 2010. While infrastructure reforms benefited GDP and the amount of Cuban tourism, the average expenditure decreased from $ 1,310 in 1995 to $ 876 by 2015. Subsequently, Cuba ranks lowest for returns in the travel industry. Contributed to low ratings: low quality food, poor customer service, and affordability. These issues must be resolved to sustain Cuba's tourism economically in the long run.
Casas particulares
In the context of tourism, private residences in Cuba that have been converted to allow paid accommodation, usually in the short term, are similar to bed and breakfast places elsewhere, commonly referred to as "special casa", meaning "private home". This is usually a single family residence, and is a very popular choice for tourists. Prices can range from 15 to 30 euros per night or less for longer stays. Casas provides a cheap option for young or independent travelers. Living in a private casa allows travelers more opportunities to mix with local Cubans, and engage in Cuban cultural life.
The social impact of tourism
As tourism plays an ever increasing role in the economy, most young people migrate to resort towns looking for jobs in the tourism industry. Many of those who work in rough jobs can earn more through tips than they can work as professionals. Thus, there are economic and social disparities that arise in Cuba between those who work in the tourism industry and others.
Tourist vs hotel Cuba
Between 1992 and 2008, to get the much needed hard currency, some hotels and resorts opened only for foreign tourists, leading to accusations of "apartheid tourism". The policy was reversed by the Cuban government in 2008.
Cuban tourism policy in the early 1990s, fueled by the urgent need of governments to earn hard currency, had a profound impact on the underlying egalitarianism embraced by the Cuban revolution. Two economies and parallel societies quickly emerged, divided by their access to the newly legalized US dollar. Those who have access to dollars through contact with the lucrative tourism industry suddenly find themselves at a distinct financial advantage over professional, industrial and agricultural workers.
To ensure the isolation of international tourism from Cuban society, tourism will be promoted in pockets where, as much as possible, tourists will be separated from Cuban society. This is not lost to the average Cuban citizen, and the government's tourism policy soon began to be referred to as "pocket tourism" and "apartheid tourism".
In 1992, when Cuba entered a period of severe economic savings, Fidel Castro defended a newly institutionalized policy in a speech to the Cuban National Assembly. He described the movement as an economic necessity that needs to be maintained as long as the country has a need for foreign currency. According to Castro, the government is "contemplating the formula" which will allow Cuba to use some tourist facilities as a reward for extraordinary work, but he believes that granting Cuban access to facilities at the expense of paying foreign tourists will ultimately be counterproductive. move for the economy.
Until 1997, contacts between tourists and Cubans had been banned, and Cubans visible in contact with tourists were seen as potential thieves by the police. Complaints of global human rights groups, and the coming Pope's visit, helped cause a commotion, even though the contact was still being criticized. Police often demand an examination of the identity of Cubans who are seen in touch with tourists. The identification of tourists is usually not checked unless tourists have dark and mistaken skin for Cuba. Despite these limitations, the average Cuban people are developing in the Cuban tourism industry, and many see the policy as inevitable.
The policy of restricting certain hotels and services to tourists was terminated by the RaÃÆ'ºl Castro government in March 2008. In addition to officially allowing Cubans to stay in any hotel, the changes also open access to previously restricted areas such as Cayo Coco. However, access remains very limited in practice, as most Cubans do not have access to the hard currency needed to stay in the hotel.
See also
- Cuban economy
- Museum in Cuba
- Cuban visa policy
- Freedom to Travel to the Cuban Law
References
- International Tourism and the Formation of Productive Groups in Cuban Economics Miguel Alejandro Figueras
- Hugh Thomas, Cuba the Pursuit of Freedom
- Richard Gott, Cuba new history
Footnote
Further reading
- Austen, Ian. Cuban fans in Canada are anxious to photograph a submerged Island in America (December 2014), The New York Times
- Traveling to Cuba like Going Back in Time by Peter Coyote, San Francisco Chronicle , February 26, 2009
- Next Hot Vacation Venue: Cuba? by Rick Seaney, ABC News , March 11, 2009
- Cuban Revolutionary Mountains by ZoÃÆ'Â Barnes, The Sunday Times , March 15, 2009
- New Resort Area Touching Paradise by Monica Zurowski, Canwest News , March 17, 2009
- American Tourists at Home in Cuba by Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times , 12 April 2009
- Looking for a Real Cub by Matthew D. LaPlante, The Salt Lake Tribune , 2 May 2009
- Warm up to Cuba by Catherine Watson, The Philadelphia Inquirer , June 7, 2009
- Cuba is Hot It's Cool: Island's Look From Quaint Retro to New and Upscale by Damien Jaques, Journal Sentinel , June 6, 2009
- My Seductive Cuba - Unique Travel Guide by Chen Lizra. And the power of seduction in our daily lives, Chen Lizra, TEDx Vancouver
- Havana, Where Everyone Can Dance, Andre Vltchek, CounterPunch
- A series of five-part travel reports by Conor Kennedy: Ã, Gardens of the Queen: Coral Reefs of the Last Reef (2014-06-21), Preserving the Cuban Sea (2014-09-30), Crossing Cuba on Chinese Bus (2014 -10-08), Ã, 500 Years After Columbus, Cuba's Queen Park Is Still Pristine (2014-10-16), Ã, Cuba and Embargo (2014-10-29)
External links
- Cuban Tourism Portal
- Snorkel Tour in Varadero
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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