'Momentum is building' for legal U.S. tourism to Cuba
— -- Anticipation that the U.S. government officially will let its citizens vacation in Cuba is expected to infuse next week's International Tourism Fair there.
The trade show, which starts Monday and will showcase the largest Caribbean island for tour operators, travel agents, airline and cruise representatives from around the world, comes as President Obama has loosened restrictions on Cuban-Americans visiting family back home and Congress considers bills that would open the country to U.S. tourists after a 47-year trade embargo.
"I'm very involved trying to get a law passed to lift the travel ban, and we have lots of (bipartisan) sponsors," United States Tour Operators Association president Bob Whitley says. "I feel it will pass; the key is whether Obama will let it."
Says Christopher P. Baker, author of the Moon travel guide to Cuba, who has visited the country more than 30 times: "Momentum is definitely building." He expects to see U.S. firms at next week's fair, and "I'm feeling optimism" that Cuba — about 90 miles south of Key West — will again become a sanctioned destination for Americans and their dollars.
Perhaps 40,000 slip into Cuba annually via Mexican or Canadian airports. (The Cuban government says it does not have statistics.) With an ailing Fidel Castro stepping down as president last year and replaced by brother Raul ("more of a pragmatist," Baker says), observers say Cuba is more receptive to an influx of American hotels and cruise lines.
"There is demand. A lot of (Americans) want to see Cuba," Whitley says.
Many Cubans see the trade embargo — called el bloqueo— "as the main barrier to their advancement," says Brendan Sainsbury, author of the current Lonely Planet guides to Cuba and Havana, who's just back from a visit. "Americans have always been heartily welcomed."
Cuba reported 2.3 million tourists last year vs. 3.4 million for the popular nearby Dominican Republic. Most were Canadians and Europeans. "A large tourist infrastructure does exist," Sainsbury says, especially four dozen mainly all-inclusive resorts on Varadero Beach.
