Tourism in Cuba
Encyclopedia
Tourism in Cuba attracts over 2 million people a year, and is one of the main sources of revenue for the island. With its favorable climate
, beaches, colonial architecture and distinct cultural
history, Cuba has long been an attractive destination for tourists. Having been Spain's last, oldest, and closest colony until 1901, in the first part of the 20th century Cuba continued to benefit from big investments, creation of industries, and immigration. Its proximity and close relation to the United States also helped Cuba's market economy prosper fairly quickly. As relations between Cuba and the United States
deteriorated rapidly after the Cuban Revolution
and the resulting expropriation and nationalisation of businesses, the island became cut off from its traditional market by an embargo
and a travel ban was imposed on U.S. citizens visiting Cuba. The tourist industry declined to record low levels within two years of Castro's accession to power. By the mid 1960s the Communist government had banned and eliminated all private property, outlawed the possession of foreign currency, and eliminated the tourist industry all together.
Until 1997, contacts between tourists and Cubans were de facto outlawed by the Communist regime. 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 in order to bring in much needed finance to the island. To ensure the isolation of international tourism from the state isolated Cuban society, it was to be promoted in enclave resort
s where, as much as possible, tourists would be segregated from Cuban society, referred to as "enclave tourism" and "tourism apartheid". By the late 1990s, tourism
surpassed Cuba's traditional export industry, sugar, as the nation's leading source of revenue. Visitors come primarily from Canada and western Europe and tourist areas are highly concentrated around Varadero
, Cayo Coco
, the beach areas north of Holguín
, and Havana
. The impact on Cuba's socialist society
and economy has been significant. However, in recent years Cuba's tourism has decreased due to the economic recession, escalating foreign investment conflicts and fears, and internal economic restrictions. Since its reopening to tourism in the mid 1990s Cuba has not met the projected growth, has had relatively little restoration, and slow growth. A lack of foreign investment has also had a negative effect. Since then, the Dominican Republic
has surpassed Cuba in tourism, new development, and investment.
has long been a popular attraction for tourists
. Between 1915 and 1930, Havana hosted more tourists than any other location in the Caribbean. The influx was due in large part to Cuba's proximity to the United States
, where restrictive prohibition
on alcohol
and other pastimes stood in stark contrast to the island's traditionally relaxed attitude to leisure pursuits. Such tourism became Cuba's third largest source of foreign currency, behind the two dominant industries of sugar
and tobacco
.
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. By the mid-1950s Havana
became one of the main markets and the favourite route for the narcotics trade to the United States. Despite this, tourist numbers grew steadily at a rate of 8% a year and Havana became known as "the Latin Las Vegas
".
Immediately upon becoming President of Cuba
after the Cuban revolution
of 1959, Manuel Urrutia ordered the closing of many bars and gambling halls associated with prostitution and the drug trade, thus effectively ending Cuba's image as a hedonistic escape. A new governmental body, the National Institute of the Tourism Industry (INTUR), was established to encourage more tourism; taking over hotels, clubs, and beaches making them available to the general public at low rates. Tourist board chief Carlos Almonia announced a program of huge investment in hotels and the creation of a new airport. But fears of Cuba's post-revolutionary status amongst Americans, who constituted 8 out of 10 of visitors, meant a rapid decrease in travel to the island.
In January 1961, as relations between the nations deteriorated, tourism travel to Cuba was declared by the U.S. State Department to be contrary to U.S. foreign policy and against the national interest. Tourism that year dropped to a record low of a mere 4180, forcing a dramatic downsizing of Cuba's tourist plans. Visitors to Cuba during the 1960s, 70s and 80s were comparatively rare. The number of tourists to the island did increase slowly, but it wasn't until 1989 that they were to equal pre-Revolutionary numbers.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 caused a crisis in the Cuban economy. The Soviets were Cuba's chief trading partner, and had effectively sheltered Cuba's sugar industry with large subsidies for 30 years. The lack of economic diversification during this period, and the sudden loss of key markets sent the country into a deep economic depression known in Cuba as the Special Period
. The crisis precipitated an urgent need to find new avenues of national income.
Policies were drawn up to satisfy the growing tourist markets of Canada and Europe with an aim to replace Cuba's reliance on the sugar industry and gain much needed foreign currency rapidly. A new Ministry of Tourism was created in 1994, and the Cuban state invested heavily in tourist facilities. Between 1990 and 2000, more than $3.5 billion was invested in the tourist industry. The number of rooms available to international tourists grew from 12,000 to 35,000, and the country received a total of 10 million visitors over that period. By 1995 the industry had surpassed sugar as Cuba's chief earner.
Today, travelers from around the world visit Cuba, especially Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France and Mexico. In recent years more than 600,000 Canadians, 200,000 Britons, 153,197 Spaniards and 114,000 Germans have visited Cuba annually.
Each year, thousands of people from the US visit Cuba, even though the official U.S. trade policy usually does not permit travel there. According to TIME Magazine (May 11, 2007), 20,000 to 30,000 Americans illegally travel to Cuba every year. Americans usually reach Cuba via flights from Toronto
, Montreal
or Cancún
.
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. Fidel Castro responded in 1991,
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".
and Parkinsons disease, and orthopaedics. Many patients are from Latin America although medical treatment for retinitis pigmentosa
, often known as night blindness, has attracted many patients from Europe and North America.
An Oct 2007 Miami Herald story addressed the high quality of health care that Canadian and American medical tourism
patients receive in Cuba.
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. Molina says that following the economic collapse known in Cuba as the Special Period
, the Cuban Government established mechanisms designed to turn the medical system into a profit-making enterprise, thus creating a disparity in the quality of healthcare services between Cubans and foreigners.
residences elsewhere, is usually referred to as a "casa particular", which simply means "private house". They are typically a single-family residence, and are a very popular choice for tourists. Prices can range from 15 to 30 euros per night, or less for longer stays; the casas provide a more inexpensive option for young or independent tourists. A stay in a private casa allows tourists more opportunity to mix with local Cubans, and engage in Cuban cultural life.
Cuba's tourism policies of the early 90s, which were driven by the government's pressing need to earn hard currency, had a major impact on the underlying egalitarianism
espoused by the Cuban revolution
. Two parallel economies and societies quickly emerged, their demarcation line was represented by access to the newly legalized U.S. dollar. Those having access to dollars through contact with the lucrative tourist industry suddenly found themselves at a distinct financial advantage over professional, industrial and agricultural workers.
Bar staff, hotel receptionists and taxi drivers became the coveted occupations in urban Cuba and, by 2006, permission to operate a private taxicab service could cost up to $500 in bribes. Musicians have also found a radical shift in their economic status. El Nuevo Herald
reported that the $200 a month one band percussionist receives in tips performing to tourists in Old Havana
is more than 30 times what he would receive from the Cuban government for the same work.
To ensure the isolation of international tourism from Cuban society, it was to be promoted in enclave resort
s where, as much as possible, tourists would be segregated from Cuban society. This was not lost on the average Cuban citizen, and the government tourism policy soon began to be referred to as "enclave tourism" and "tourism apartheid".
In 1992, as Cuba entered the period of severe economic austerity, Fidel Castro defended the newly instituted policies in a speech to the Cuban National Assembly. He described the moves as an economic necessity that would need to be maintained for as long as the country had a need for foreign currency. According to Castro, the government was "pondering formulas" that would allow Cubans to use some of the tourist facilities as a reward for outstanding work, but believed that giving Cubans access to amenities at the expense of paying foreign tourists would ultimately be a counterproductive move for the economy; "For every five Cubans staying two or three days in one of those hotels, the country would have one less ton of meat to distribute to the people,".
Until 1997 contacts between tourists and Cubans were de facto outlawed, and Cubans seen in contact with tourists were regarded as potential thieves by police. Global human rights groups complaints, and the upcoming visit of Pope
, helped cause an about-face, although such contacts are still frowned upon, with standard harassment such as police identification checks for any Cuban seen in contact with a tourist common. Tourist identification is usually not checked unless the tourist has dark skin and is mistaken for Cuban. Despite the restrictions, average Cubans thrive on Cuba's tourist industry, and many simply see the policy as inevitable.
Jineterismo, the sex tourism
industry in Cuba, has been closely associated with tourism apartheid; with some claiming that the only Cubans allowed into the resorts as a group were prostitutes, the jineteras, whilst the Cuban government claimed that its restrictions on Cubans were part of its policy to combat prostitution and hustling. According to Elisa Facio, the government turns "a blind eye in hopes the dollars jineteras earned would help overcome the Revolution
's worst economic crisis.
Colin Crawford, of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University
, has suggested that tourist apartheid might become a permanent regression to the pre-revolutionary state of Cuban society, while Saundra Amrhein and Tamara Lush point out the irony of the situation: "That tourism has brought exclusive resorts, segregated hotels and a general playground for foreigners swinging through the island looking for Caribbean romance. Ironically, these are precisely the circumstances the revolution worked 40 years to erase."
The policy of restricting certain hotels and services to tourists was ended by the government of Raúl Castro
in March 2008. As well as officially allowing Cubans to stay in any hotel, the change also opened access to previously restricted areas such as Cayo Coco
. However, access remains very limited in practice, as the vast majority of Cubans do not have access to the hard currency needed to stay in such hotels.
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
, beaches, colonial architecture and distinct cultural
Culture of Cuba
The culture of Cuba is a complex mixture of different, often contrasting, factors and influences. Cuba is a meeting point of European, African and continental North American cultures; little of the original Amerindian culture survives. Since 1959, the Cuban Revolution has also greatly affected...
history, Cuba has long been an attractive destination for tourists. Having been Spain's last, oldest, and closest colony until 1901, in the first part of the 20th century Cuba continued to benefit from big investments, creation of industries, and immigration. Its proximity and close relation to the United States also helped Cuba's market economy prosper fairly quickly. As relations between Cuba and the United States
Cuba-United States relations
Cuba and the United States of America have had an interest in one another since well before either of their independence movements. Plans for purchase of Cuba from the Spanish Empire were put forward at various times by United States...
deteriorated rapidly after the Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
and the resulting expropriation and nationalisation of businesses, the island became cut off from its traditional market by an embargo
United States embargo against Cuba
The United States embargo against Cuba is a commercial, economic, and financial embargo partially imposed on Cuba in October 1960...
and a travel ban was imposed on U.S. citizens visiting Cuba. The tourist industry declined to record low levels within two years of Castro's accession to power. By the mid 1960s the Communist government had banned and eliminated all private property, outlawed the possession of foreign currency, and eliminated the tourist industry all together.
Until 1997, contacts between tourists and Cubans were de facto outlawed by the Communist regime. Following the collapse of Cuba's chief trading partner the Soviet Union, and the resulting economic crisis known as the Special Period
Special Period
The Special Period in Time of Peace in Cuba was an extended period of economic crisis that began in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and, by extension, the Comecon. The economic depression of the Special Period was at its most severe in the early-to-mid 1990s before slightly declining...
, 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 in order to bring in much needed finance to the island. To ensure the isolation of international tourism from the state isolated Cuban society, it was to be promoted in enclave resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
s where, as much as possible, tourists would be segregated from Cuban society, referred to as "enclave tourism" and "tourism apartheid". By the late 1990s, tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
surpassed Cuba's traditional export industry, sugar, as the nation's leading source of revenue. Visitors come primarily from Canada and western Europe and tourist areas are highly concentrated around Varadero
Varadero
Varadero is a resort town in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, and one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean. Varadero is also called Playa Azul, which means "blue beach" in Spanish.-Geography:...
, Cayo Coco
Cayo Coco
Cayo Coco is an island in central Cuba, well known for its luxurious all inclusive resorts. It lies within the Ciego de Ávila Province and is part of a chain of islands called Jardines del Rey . The cay is administered by the Morón municipality. It is named for the white ibis, locally called Coco...
, the beach areas north of Holguín
Holguín
Holguín is a municipality and city, the capital of the Cuban Province of Holguín. It also includes a tourist area, offering beach resorts in the outskirts of the region.-History:...
, and Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
. The impact on Cuba's socialist society
Socialist state
A socialist state generally refers to any state constitutionally dedicated to the construction of a socialist society. It is closely related to the political strategy of "state socialism", a set of ideologies and policies that believe a socialist economy can be established through government...
and economy has been significant. However, in recent years Cuba's tourism has decreased due to the economic recession, escalating foreign investment conflicts and fears, and internal economic restrictions. Since its reopening to tourism in the mid 1990s Cuba has not met the projected growth, has had relatively little restoration, and slow growth. A lack of foreign investment has also had a negative effect. Since then, the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
has surpassed Cuba in tourism, new development, and investment.
History
CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
has long been a popular attraction for tourists
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
. Between 1915 and 1930, Havana hosted more tourists than any other location in the Caribbean. The influx was due in large part to Cuba's proximity to the United States
Cuba-United States relations
Cuba and the United States of America have had an interest in one another since well before either of their independence movements. Plans for purchase of Cuba from the Spanish Empire were put forward at various times by United States...
, where restrictive prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
on alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
and other pastimes stood in stark contrast to the island's traditionally relaxed attitude to leisure pursuits. Such tourism became Cuba's third largest source of foreign currency, behind the two dominant industries of sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
and tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
.
A combination of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
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
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
came to dominate the leisure and tourist industries, a modus operandi outlined at the infamous Havana Conference
Havana Conference
The Havana Conference of 1946 was an historic meeting of United States Mafia and Cosa Nostra leaders in Havana, Cuba. Supposedly arranged by Charles "Lucky" Luciano, the conference was held to discuss important mob policies, rules, and business interests. The Havana Conference was attended by...
of 1946. By the mid-1950s Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
became one of the main markets and the favourite route for the narcotics trade to the United States. Despite this, tourist numbers grew steadily at a rate of 8% a year and Havana became known as "the Latin Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
".
President of Cuba
--209.174.31.28 18:43, 22 November 2011 The President of Cuba is the Head of state of Cuba. According to the Cuban Constitution of 1976, the President is the chief executive of the Council of State of Cuba...
after the Cuban revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
of 1959, Manuel Urrutia ordered the closing of many bars and gambling halls associated with prostitution and the drug trade, thus effectively ending Cuba's image as a hedonistic escape. A new governmental body, the National Institute of the Tourism Industry (INTUR), was established to encourage more tourism; taking over hotels, clubs, and beaches making them available to the general public at low rates. Tourist board chief Carlos Almonia announced a program of huge investment in hotels and the creation of a new airport. But fears of Cuba's post-revolutionary status amongst Americans, who constituted 8 out of 10 of visitors, meant a rapid decrease in travel to the island.
In January 1961, as relations between the nations deteriorated, tourism travel to Cuba was declared by the U.S. State Department to be contrary to U.S. foreign policy and against the national interest. Tourism that year dropped to a record low of a mere 4180, forcing a dramatic downsizing of Cuba's tourist plans. Visitors to Cuba during the 1960s, 70s and 80s were comparatively rare. The number of tourists to the island did increase slowly, but it wasn't until 1989 that they were to equal pre-Revolutionary numbers.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 caused a crisis in the Cuban economy. The Soviets were Cuba's chief trading partner, and had effectively sheltered Cuba's sugar industry with large subsidies for 30 years. The lack of economic diversification during this period, and the sudden loss of key markets sent the country into a deep economic depression known in Cuba as the Special Period
Special Period
The Special Period in Time of Peace in Cuba was an extended period of economic crisis that began in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and, by extension, the Comecon. The economic depression of the Special Period was at its most severe in the early-to-mid 1990s before slightly declining...
. The crisis precipitated an urgent need to find new avenues of national income.
Policies were drawn up to satisfy the growing tourist markets of Canada and Europe with an aim to replace Cuba's reliance on the sugar industry and gain much needed foreign currency rapidly. A new Ministry of Tourism was created in 1994, and the Cuban state invested heavily in tourist facilities. Between 1990 and 2000, more than $3.5 billion was invested in the tourist industry. The number of rooms available to international tourists grew from 12,000 to 35,000, and the country received a total of 10 million visitors over that period. By 1995 the industry had surpassed sugar as Cuba's chief earner.
Today, travelers from around the world visit Cuba, especially Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France and Mexico. In recent years more than 600,000 Canadians, 200,000 Britons, 153,197 Spaniards and 114,000 Germans have visited Cuba annually.
Each year, thousands of people from the US visit Cuba, even though the official U.S. trade policy usually does not permit travel there. According to TIME Magazine (May 11, 2007), 20,000 to 30,000 Americans illegally travel to Cuba every year. Americans usually reach Cuba via flights from Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
or Cancún
Cancún
Cancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...
.
Foreign investment
Foreign investment in the Cuban tourism sector has increased steadily since the tourism drive. This has been made possible due to constitutional changes to Cuba's socialist command economy, to allow for the recognition of foreign held capital. By the late 1990s, twenty five joint foreign and domestic venture companies were working within Cuba's tourist industry. Foreign investors and hoteliers from market based economies have found that Cuba's centralized economy and bureaucracy has created particular staffing issues and higher costs then normal. An additional factor cited by foreign investors is the degree of state involvement at the executive level, which is far higher than average.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. Fidel Castro responded in 1991,
"In the conditions of a small country like Cuba... It is very difficult to develop... relying on one's own resources. It is for this reason that we have no alternative but to associate ourselves with those foreign enterprises that can supply capital, technology, and markets."
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".
Tourism and the environment
The Cuban government has established safeguards designed to ensure that tourism and other development do not result in significant environmental impacts. The development of new tourist facilities and related infrastructure in Cuba must, among other things, proceed in accordance with Cuban environmental laws and policies. In 1994 the Cuban government established the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment (CITMA) and in 1997 the National Assembly has enacted Law 81 of the Environment, one of the most comprehensive "framework" environmental laws in the region. Pursuant to that Law, the government adopted a number of decree laws and resolutions aimed at ensuring that future development (including tourism development) is sustainable. Of particular importance to tourism development is Decree Law 212,Coastal Zone Management, which establishes setbacks and other siting requirements for new facilities in coastal areas. CITMA Resolution 77/99 requires a thorough environmental assessment of major new construction projects and requires that project developers obtain an environmental license from CITMA.Health tourism
As well as receiving traditional tourism revenues, Cuba attracts health tourists, generating revenues of around $40m a year for the Cuban economy. Cuba has been a popular health tourism destination for more than 20 years. 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 sclerosisMultiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
and Parkinsons disease, and orthopaedics. Many patients are from Latin America although medical treatment for retinitis pigmentosa
Retinitis pigmentosa
Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of genetic eye conditions that leads to incurable blindness. In the progression of symptoms for RP, night blindness generally precedes tunnel vision by years or even decades. Many people with RP do not become legally blind until their 40s or 50s and retain some...
, often known as night blindness, has attracted many patients from Europe and North America.
An Oct 2007 Miami Herald story addressed the high quality of health care that Canadian and American medical tourism
Medical tourism
Medical tourism is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of travelling across international borders to obtain health care...
patients receive in Cuba.
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
Dissident
A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
Dr. Hilda Molina
Hilda Molina
Dr. Hilda Molina is the former chief neurosurgeon of Cuba. Molina was also a deputy in the Cuban National Assembly but has been a critic of the Cuban government since the early 1990s. Her criticisms focus primarily on Cuba's state-governed healthcare system.In 1987, Molina founded the neurosurgery...
asserts that the central revolutionary objective of free, quality medical care for all has been eroded by Cuba's need for foreign currency. Molina says that following the economic collapse known in Cuba as the Special Period
Special Period
The Special Period in Time of Peace in Cuba was an extended period of economic crisis that began in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and, by extension, the Comecon. The economic depression of the Special Period was at its most severe in the early-to-mid 1990s before slightly declining...
, the Cuban Government established mechanisms designed to turn the medical system into a profit-making enterprise, thus creating a disparity in the quality of healthcare services between Cubans and foreigners.
Casas particulares
In the context of tourism a private residence in Cuba converted to allow paid lodging, usually on a short-term basis, akin to bed and breakfastBed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
residences elsewhere, is usually referred to as a "casa particular", which simply means "private house". They are typically a single-family residence, and are a very popular choice for tourists. Prices can range from 15 to 30 euros per night, or less for longer stays; the casas provide a more inexpensive option for young or independent tourists. A stay in a private casa allows tourists more opportunity to mix with local Cubans, and engage in Cuban cultural life.
Impact on Cuban society and tourism apartheid
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
espoused by the Cuban revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
. Two parallel economies and societies quickly emerged, their demarcation line was represented by access to the newly legalized U.S. dollar. Those having access to dollars through contact with the lucrative tourist industry suddenly found themselves at a distinct financial advantage over professional, industrial and agricultural workers.
Bar staff, hotel receptionists and taxi drivers became the coveted occupations in urban Cuba and, by 2006, permission to operate a private taxicab service could cost up to $500 in bribes. Musicians have also found a radical shift in their economic status. El Nuevo Herald
El Nuevo Herald
El Nuevo Herald is a McClatchy newspaper published daily in Spanish in Miami, Florida, in the United States. El Nuevo Heralds sister paper is The Miami Herald, also produced by the McClatchy Company.-About El Nuevo Herald:...
reported that the $200 a month one band percussionist receives in tips performing to tourists in Old Havana
Old Havana
Old Havana contains the core of the original city of Havana. The positions of the original Havana city walls are the modern boundaries of Old Havana....
is more than 30 times what he would receive from the Cuban government for the same work.
To ensure the isolation of international tourism from Cuban society, it was to be promoted in enclave resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....
s where, as much as possible, tourists would be segregated from Cuban society. This was not lost on the average Cuban citizen, and the government tourism policy soon began to be referred to as "enclave tourism" and "tourism apartheid".
In 1992, as Cuba entered the period of severe economic austerity, Fidel Castro defended the newly instituted policies in a speech to the Cuban National Assembly. He described the moves as an economic necessity that would need to be maintained for as long as the country had a need for foreign currency. According to Castro, the government was "pondering formulas" that would allow Cubans to use some of the tourist facilities as a reward for outstanding work, but believed that giving Cubans access to amenities at the expense of paying foreign tourists would ultimately be a counterproductive move for the economy; "For every five Cubans staying two or three days in one of those hotels, the country would have one less ton of meat to distribute to the people,".
Until 1997 contacts between tourists and Cubans were de facto outlawed, and Cubans seen in contact with tourists were regarded as potential thieves by police. Global human rights groups complaints, and the upcoming visit of Pope
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
, helped cause an about-face, although such contacts are still frowned upon, with standard harassment such as police identification checks for any Cuban seen in contact with a tourist common. Tourist identification is usually not checked unless the tourist has dark skin and is mistaken for Cuban. Despite the restrictions, average Cubans thrive on Cuba's tourist industry, and many simply see the policy as inevitable.
Sex tourism
Sex tourism is travel to engage in sexual activity with prostitutes.The World Tourism Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, defines sex tourism as "trips organized from within the tourism sector, or from outside this sector but using its structures and networks, with the primary...
industry in Cuba, has been closely associated with tourism apartheid; with some claiming that the only Cubans allowed into the resorts as a group were prostitutes, the jineteras, whilst the Cuban government claimed that its restrictions on Cubans were part of its policy to combat prostitution and hustling. According to Elisa Facio, the government turns "a blind eye in hopes the dollars jineteras earned would help overcome the Revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
's worst economic crisis.
Colin Crawford, of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University
Georgia State University
Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...
, has suggested that tourist apartheid might become a permanent regression to the pre-revolutionary state of Cuban society, while Saundra Amrhein and Tamara Lush point out the irony of the situation: "That tourism has brought exclusive resorts, segregated hotels and a general playground for foreigners swinging through the island looking for Caribbean romance. Ironically, these are precisely the circumstances the revolution worked 40 years to erase."
The policy of restricting certain hotels and services to tourists was ended by the government of Raúl Castro
Raúl Castro
Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz is a Cuban politician and revolutionary who has been President of the Council of State of Cuba and the President of the Council of Ministers of Cuba since 2008; he previously exercised presidential powers in an acting capacity from 2006 to 2008...
in March 2008. As well as officially allowing Cubans to stay in any hotel, the change also opened access to previously restricted areas such as Cayo Coco
Cayo Coco
Cayo Coco is an island in central Cuba, well known for its luxurious all inclusive resorts. It lies within the Ciego de Ávila Province and is part of a chain of islands called Jardines del Rey . The cay is administered by the Morón municipality. It is named for the white ibis, locally called Coco...
. However, access remains very limited in practice, as the vast majority of Cubans do not have access to the hard currency needed to stay in such hotels.
See also
- Freedom to Travel to Cuba ActFreedom to Travel to Cuba ActThe Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act is a bill that was introduced into the U.S. Congress in February 2009. The proposed legislation would allow U.S. citizens to engage in unrestricted travel to Cuba for the first time since 1963. The bill was introduced by Rep...
- Economy of CubaEconomy of CubaThe economy of Cuba is a largely centrally planned economy dominated by state-run enterprises overseen by the Cuban government, though there remains significant foreign investment and private enterprise in Cuba...
- CorecomCorecomCorecom was a chain of hard-currency stores during the Communist rule in Bulgaria . Goods were often priced cheaper than in the West, however, they were still inaccessible for most Bulgarians because the national currency, the lev, was not accepted at the stores...
- Friendship storeFriendship storeA Friendship Store is a state-run store in People's Republic of China , which initially sold exclusively to tourists, foreigners, diplomats, and government officials but now has no restrictions on customers.-History:...
- IntershopIntershopIntershop was a chain of government-run retail stores in the German Democratic Republic in which only hard currencies could be used to purchase high-quality goods. The East German mark was not accepted as payment...
- PewexPewexPewex was a chain of hard currency shops in communist Poland...
Further reading
- Traveling to Cuba is like Going Back in Time by Peter Coyote, San Francisco Chronicle, February 26, 2009
- The Next Vacation Hot Spot: Cuba? by Rick Seaney, ABC News, March 11, 2009
- Cuba's Revolutionary Mountains by Zoë Barnes, The Sunday Times, March 15, 2009
- New Resort Area a Touch of Paradise by Monica Zurowski, Canwest News, March 17, 2009
- American Tourists at Home in Cuba by Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, April 12, 2009
- Looking for the Real Cuba by Matthew D. LaPlante, The Salt Lake Tribune, May 2, 2009
- Warming to Cuba by Catherine Watson, The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 7, 2009
- Cuba's so Hot it's Cool: Island's Look Ranges from Quaint Retro to New and Upscale by Damien Jaques, Journal Sentinel, June 6, 2009
External links
- Wikitravel article on Cuba
- The Cuban Portal of Tourism
- Cuba: Close, but no Cigar for U.S. Tourists by USA TodayUSA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
- Apartheid in Cuba: news