Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Cuba readies for possible influx of U.S. tourists
Sun Apr 12, 2009 1:10pm EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Jeff Franks
VARADERO, Cuba (Reuters) - Behind the mangroves that skirt the blue waters of Cuba's Bay of Cardenas, a 1,500-slip marina is taking shape as the island's tourism industry braces for what could be its biggest challenge yet.
The Americans are coming -- or they may be, soon.
Rock jetties jut out into the bay and beyond them a plot of land the size of several football fields is taking shape, reclaimed from the water as part of a big new marina project at Varadero, a beach resort 80 miles east of Havana.
"The Americans will come here in their yachts and they'll put them in the marina," said a security guard, gesturing to the earth-moving and sand-dredging behind the mangroves.
"It's so close, they're expecting a lot of them," he added, referring to the United States just 90 miles away.
The United States and Cuba have been separated by a wide ideological gulf since Fidel Castro's 1959 Revolution.
For most of that time, Americans have been prohibited by their own laws from traveling to the communist-led Caribbean island under a 47-year-old U.S. trade embargo.
But that may change. Legislation to free travel by Americans to Cuba is pending in the U.S. Congress, and backers expect it could be approved in what they see as a developing thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations under U.S. President Barack Obama.
"If the travel ban is lifted, you'll probably see hundreds, hundreds of American yachtsmen going to Cuba the next day," said Timothy Ashby, a former U.S. Commerce Department official who studies Cuban commercial issues.
Cuba's government and people have been anticipating this moment for a long time, but questions about their readiness for an onslaught of American visitors are being raised.
The doubts focus on the capacity and quality of Cuba's tourist infrastructure, but also on possible political effects on an island that has resisted U.S. influence for 50 years.
After years of animosity with the United States, Cuban leaders do not like to say that developments such as the Varadero marina, and other big golf and leisure projects, are being built with the American market in mind.
The official line is that Cuba is preparing for visitors from the whole world and if that includes Americans, so be it.
But the United States is the natural market for Cuba, whose economy is reeling from the damage inflicted by three hurricanes last year and the ongoing global financial crisis.
CONTROLLING A TOURISM BOOM Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
U.S. general says Iraq attacks no reason to panic
Also on Reuters
Cuba readies for possible influx of U.S. tourists
Video
Video: White House to get new First Dog
"Hannah Montana" rocks North American box office
More International News
U.S. Navy rescues captain held by Somali pirates
| Video
Thai ministry stormed after government declares emergency
Iran president dismisses demand to halt atom work: report
Pope calls for Israel-Palestinian peace at Easter
Italy quake survivors celebrate bitter Easter
| Video
More International News...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
WRAPUP 9-U.S. Navy rescues captain held by Somali pirates
U.S. Navy rescues captain held by Somali pirates | Video
Ship reaches Kenya; pirate lifeboat drifts toward land | Video
WRAPUP 8-Ship reaches Kenya; pirate lifeboat drifts toward land
Russia test-fires intercontinental missile
Wildfires destroy 2 Texas towns, kill 2 | Video
Thai protesters force Asia summit cancellation | Video
Las Vegas trophy project becomes symbol of trouble
Karate expert kills two over lice infection
Steve Jobs maintains grip at Apple: report
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Pirates seize U.S tugboat
Thailand state of emergecy lifted
Hostage captain hailed a hero
Thai PM flees ministry compound
White House to get new First Dog
FBI investigators aboard hijack ship
U.S. versus pirates
Iraq bomber targets Sunni militiamen
French pirate hostage killed
Easter worship across the Holy Land
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
The Great Debate
World Affairs:
Arabia's knowledge gap
Bernd Debusmann
Education is a tempting target for budget cutters in times of financial distress, but in the Arab world an education drive without parallel is taking place. Commentary
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.