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More than one million dollars per year would be
generated by Cuban-U.S. tourism
BY
RAISA PAGES—Granma International staff writer—
CUBA is ready for U.S. tourism if
the ban on travel from that country to the island
were to be lifted immediately, affirmed the Cuban
authorities in the first encounter with 40 tour and
cruise operators and representatives from U.S.
travel agencies that took place in Cancún and
Havana.
Studies by U.S. institutions and
academies have revealed that if the restrictions
imposed by that government were lifted the U.S.
tourism industry would benefit to the tune of more
than one billion dollars per year.
Other research shows that in the
first year one million U.S. citizens would arrive, a
total that could stabilize at around 2.5 million
visitors per annum within five years, according to
Miguel Figueras, advisor to the Ministry of Tourism
in Cuba.
Michael Succato, president of the
Association of Tourism Related Industry
Professionals, who organized this first meeting,
stated that it was a great opportunity for U.S.
companies and held in a spirit of positively
influencing decisions taken in terms of relations
between the United States and Cuba.
In a press conference at the
flagship Nacional hotel, Mat Grayson, director of
the U.S. Tour Operators National Association,
expressed his intention to market tourism in Cuba
within the United States and throughout the world.
Kirby Jones, president of the
Alamar Association, and Daniel Watts, a U.S. lawyer,
agreed with other U.S. directors that the majority
of citizens in that country are in favor of ending
the current travel restrictions to Cuba, the only
country in the world that they visit due to
government legislation.
Succato and Mat Grayson stated
that the question of when the ban will be repealed
is in the hands of the politicians. The House of
Representatives’ decision to vote in favor of
normalizing relations with Cuba was a positive first
step, but the legislation now has to go before the
Senate and the George Bush, who has the power to
veto it.
The U.S. delegation toured Old
Havana to appreciate ongoing restoration works,
passed along Havana’s Malecón and visited various
tourist installations in the city. They were
received in the Nacional hotel on October 19.
For most U.S. citizens this
exchange is the initiation of a process of education
and information on the Cuban tourism market.
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