“I believe it [Cuba] will become a major tourism destination eventually, assuming the embargo is lifted and the United States continues to normalize relations,” Executive Director of International Institute of Tourism Studies Kristin Lamoureux told Sputnik Thursday.
Lamoureux pointed out that due to Cuba’s proximity to the United States, “we could see dual US-Cuba trips for international visitors, as well as Americans travelling there more frequently.”
Lisa Glidden, Associate Professor from State University of New York at Oswego shared the view point that Cuba can become a major touristic attraction for US citizens. However, she warned that the island could turn into a tourism-dependent economy.
“If Cuba develops a dependence on tourism as a revenue source (and I bring this up because of the focus on the number of US tourists who would like to visit mentioned in the news over the past two days) it might be in danger of developing into a tourist enclave economy,” Glidden stressed.
Glidden said that Cuba’s economy might become dependent on external source of income, tourists, who “might want to visit Cuban resorts that are closed off to Cubans.”
“For example, most foreign visitors to Jamaica or the Dominican Republic never leave the resort and its private beaches,” Glidden compared.
On Wednesday, President Obama announced that the United States was relaxing trade and travel restrictions on Cuba. An embargo has been in place since 1961 due to Cold War antagonism between Washington and the Communist government in Havana.
