| Cuba si!
My Visit
to Havana
Recently I attended an important
industry event, the U.S. Cuba Travel Conference in Cancun.
I was one of a group of U.S. travel industry people, mostly
tour operators, who met with a 20-member Cuban delegation
headed by Cuban Minister of Tourism, Ibrahim Ferradaz. Represented
were government agencies involved with tourism, tourism companies,
international hotel chains and other foreign companies doing
business in Cuba. Our purpose: to exchange information and
to discuss the potential for future U.S. tourism to Cuba.
Following two days of intensive
talks, our U.S. delegation was invited to be guests of the
Cuban government on a fully hosted (legal) one-day trip. We
boarded a charter flight in Cancun before dawn and soon arrived
at Jose Marti airport, where we were met by reporters, TV
cameras, musicians and dancers. It was a festive start to
an unforgettable day in which our group was treated like royalty
while being shown some of the jewels of this unique travel
destination. Highlights were our succession of receptions
at Hotel Gran Caribe and Hotel Parc Central, Hotel Seville,
the oldest hotel, and the famous Hotel Nacional where we were
entertained by musicians from Buena Vista Social Club. We
had a walking tour of Old Havana and luncheon at Café
Oriente. Later we motorcaded in classic cars along the Malecon.
And at the end of the day, we had a surprise audience with
Fidel Castro himself, who joked that if the Americans come
to Cuba the Cubans may have to go somewhere else—a reference
to the inevitable millions of Americans who will visit the
island when the ban is lifted. He said that Cuba is ready
for Americans and is training and educating people to provide
quality services in tourism, at the same time that joint ventures
with foreign companies are improving the tourism product.
Our visit came at a moment when
there is great pressure on both sides to open the gates of
the "forbidden island." Cuba is looking hard at
the growing numbers of U.S. visitors to Cuba, and what that
hard currency means to a country coming back from recent economic
crisis with the fall of the Soviet Union. In just a decade
Cuba has come very far in developing the hotels and infrastructure
to receive large numbers of tourists. And on the U.S. side,
even though the Bush administration is so far refusing any
change in U.S. Cuban relations, the political pressure for
lifting the ban on travel is mounting. Both the House and
Senate have voted to ease the travel restrictions to Cuba,
and travel organizations such as ATRIP, the organizer of the
conference, are bringing pressure from our travel industry
(we could benefit greatly by the opening of Cuba) and keeping
the issue in the public ear. Analysts say that it is not a
matter of IF the travel ban will be lifted, but WHEN.
What I discovered on my one
day in Cuba is this:
- The Cuban people are genuinely
delightful hosts who are eager to welcome American visitors,
and of course, to benefit from tourism dollars. They suffer
in a very harsh economy, but they do not blame American
people for their troubles.
- Habana Vieja (Old Havana) is the lovely heart
of an historic port city and UNESCO designated World Heritage
site. Havana evokes turn of the century to mid-century decades
like no other place in the Americas. The U.S. embargo has
had the one great benefit of preserving this city, the largest
in the Caribbean, in a time capsule. And now it is tourism
dollars that are directly funding its preservation and the
restoration of historic buildings.
- The ambiance of historic hotels and restaurants,
the sweet sounds of live music at every turn, the joy of
walking on cobblestone streets and lovely plazas in a lush
semi-tropical city, the charm of the Cuban people and their
friendliness toward visitors—this is a romantic and
truly atmospheric destination. The visitor to Cuba will
be richly rewarded with an authentic cultural experience.
Cuba also happens to be our very close neighbor, and a neighbor
who has shared a dramatic history with us.
- The Havana port facility has two deep-water
berths and is receiving cruise ships from 11 European cruise
ship operators, to the great loss so far of U.S. cruise
ship passengers. Cuba will be a fantastic port stop when
Princess, Royal Caribbean and Carnival ships can call.
- We didn’t have the time to visit beach
resorts or areas outside of Havana, but I learned that glorious
beaches, spectacular mountain ranges and charming towns
are found throughout the country. Located near the Tropic
of Cancer in the Caribbean only 110 miles south of Florida,
the Cuban archipelago is made up of the isles of Cuba, Isla
de Juventud and some 4200 keys and islets. European hotel
chains offer luxury hotel resorts, and there are also opportunities
for stays in "casas particulares" or B&B type
accommodations in peoples’ homes.
- Cuba’s vision for tourism, articulated
in depth by the Minister of Tourism, Mr. Ferradaz, is one
that embraces a diversity of styles of travel. It is tourism
of peace, heath and family—without drugs, casinos,
gambling or crime. It is special kind of tourism, distinct
from Florida shopping malls or theme parks for example,
because people who come to Cuba have cultural interests.
Cuba’s cultural strength is in music, dance, art,
architecture, history, and the preservation of the environment
and in the effort to create a different society.
- Cuba will offer opportunities for several
groups not well served by other Caribbean countries, including
the long stay visitor who comes for one to six months, the
medical tourist who comes seeking low cost but advanced
health care, and the "silver haired group" seeking
low key, affordable relaxation. Also offered are world class
diving, sport fishing, surfing, bicycling and other opportunities
for sport and nature travel.
Legal travel to Cuba can be arranged through
various licensed tour operators. Groups who wish to pursue
humanitarian or religious missions or sports, medical, and
some other purposes, can obtain the necessary licenses and
make all arrangements by using the services of these travel
service providers. In spite of the U.S. government restrictions
on travel to Cuba, the number of U.S. visitors to Cuba last
year was around 190,000 both legal and illegal. The majority
of Americans would like to see the travel ban lifted and believe
as I do that it is our democratic right as Americans
to travel freely. Cuba Si!
For more on our important visit to Cuba
see this Christian Science Monitor aritcle. http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1023/p04s01-woam.html
|
