Tourism in Cuba

Tourism in Cuba is an economic sector that generates over 4.7 million arrivals as of 2018[update],[1] and is one of the main sources of revenue for the island.

[2] With its favorable climate, beaches, colonial architecture and distinct cultural history, Cuba has long been an attractive destination for tourists.

"Cuba treasures 253 protected areas, 257 national monuments, 7 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 7 Natural Biosphere Reserves and 13 Fauna Refuge among other non-tourist zones.

"[3] Having been Spain's closest colony to the United States until 1898, in the first part of the 20th century Cuba continued to develop with the influence of big investments, the creation of various industries, and growing travel to support mostly US interests and corporations.

Its proximity (roughly 90 miles (140 km) from the Florida Keys) and close relationship with the United States also helped Cuba's market economy prosper fairly quickly.

[4][5] Following the collapse of Cuba's chief trading partner the Soviet Union, and the resulting economic crisis known as the Special Period, Cuba's government embarked on a major program to restore old hotels, remaining old pre-communism American cars, and restore several Havana streets to their former glory, as well as build beach resorts to bolster the tourist industry to bring in much-needed finance to the island.

[6] By the late 1990s, tourism surpassed Cuba's traditional export industry, sugar, as the nation's leading source of revenue.

This is typified by Irving Berlin's 1919 foxtrot song, "I'll See You in C-U-B-A," the lyrics of which ridicule drinking in speakeasies and instead advertise Cuba as a travel destination "where wine is flowing".

A combination of the Great Depression of the 1930s, the end of Prohibition, and World War II severely dampened Cuba's tourist industry, and it wasn't until the 1950s that numbers began to return to the island in any significant force.

During this period, American organized crime came to dominate the leisure and tourist industries, a modus operandi outlined at the infamous Havana Conference of 1946.

But fears of Cuba's post-revolutionary status amongst Americans, who constituted 8 out of 10 visitors,[8] meant a rapid decline in tourism to the island.

In January 1961, relations between the nations sharply deteriorated as a result of bank and business expropriations, mass exodus, summary executions, and private property being declared illegal by a now openly communist regime being backed by the USSR.

Tourism that year dropped to a record low of a mere 4180, forcing a dramatic downsizing of Cuba's tourist plans.

Policies were drawn up to satisfy the growing tourist markets of Canada and Europe to replace Cuba's reliance on the sugar industry and gain much-needed foreign currency rapidly.

While parts of these loosened restrictions were later revoked by President Trump in 2017, travel to Cuba remains legal for US citizens who meet certain requirements.

)[17] Independent travelers to Cuba can qualify for the "Support for the Cuban People" category by maintaining a full-time schedule of activities that fulfill this requirement.

This has been made possible due to constitutional changes to Cuba's socialist command economy, to allow for the recognition of foreign-held capital.

[22] The influx of foreign capital, and associated capitalist management methods, led outside observers to question whether Cuba's socialist system could survive the resulting transformation.

Castro was also of the belief that despite the undeniable influence of "capitalist ideology", socialism would prevail both in Cuba and the wider "battle of ideas".

In 2005, more than 19,600 foreign patients traveled to Cuba for a wide range of treatments including eye surgery, neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, and orthopedics.

[26][27] Some complaints have arisen that foreign "health tourists" paying with dollars receive a higher quality of care than Cuban citizens.

Former leading Cuban neurosurgeon and dissident Dr. Hilda Molina asserts that the central revolutionary objective of free, quality medical care for all has been eroded by Cuba's need for foreign currency.

[33] According to a travel advice website by the government of Canada, "Cuba is actively working to prevent child sex tourism, and several tourists, including Canadians, have been convicted of offenses related to the corruption of minors aged 16 and under.

As such, many of the citizens who flood tourist areas turn to illicit alternatives such as prostitution or unlicensed self-employment (often offer taxi services, currency exchange, host casas particulares, etc.

)[41] Between 1992 and 2008, to gain the much-needed hard currency, some hotels and resorts were opened only to foreign tourists, leading to accusations of "tourism apartheid".

Cuba's tourism policies of the early 1990s, which were driven by the government's pressing need to earn hard currency,[42] had a major impact on the underlying egalitarianism espoused by the Cuban revolution.

[47] In 1992, as Cuba entered a period of severe economic austerity, Fidel Castro defended the newly instituted policies in a speech to the Cuban National Assembly.

[4][5] Global human-rights groups' complaints, and the upcoming visit of Pope John Paul II, helped cause an about-face, although such contact was still frowned upon.

[49] As well as officially allowing Cubans to stay in any hotel, the change also opened access to previously restricted areas such as Cayo Coco.

Government-run tour agencies began special offers aimed at the general population, allowing them to spend a few days in beach resorts.