Travel restrictions to Cuba lifted

It's the dawn of a new era in US/Cuba relations, thanks to American President Barack Obama.

Obama yesterday eased travel restrictions for Cuban Americans who can now visit Cuba as often as they want and spend as much as they like.

Under the Bush administration, Americans with immediate family members on the island could visit once every three years and send up to US$100 a month to their families.

In the wake of Obama's announcement, Charter airlines who used to transport authorised visitors to Cuba were said to be deluged with calls and were considering using bigger planes for the anticipated increase in travellers to the island.

With Cuban Americans now able to travel freely, Cuba's tourism industry can expect a huge boost.

One of Cuba's biggest sources of cash in recent years has been foreign tourism, which brought in 2.3 million visitors and US$2.5 billion (NZ$4.4 billion) in revenues in 2008. The island suffered three devastating hurricanes last year which affected the industry.

Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero announced recently that for the first two months in 2009 the tourism industry expanded by 5.2 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Government statistics show that the island had about 55,000 hotel rooms in 2007, the last year for which numbers are available. At least 10,000 more are under construction, and others are on the drawing boards.

The continued growth of Cuba's tourism industry is a bit of an anomaly in the region. A report by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) comparing the industry's performance in 2007 and 2008, said 11 out of its 26 member countries experienced a decline or stagnation in the number of foreign visitors to their shores.

With the lifting of this travel ban to Cuba, the rest of the region could expect to lose more visitors to the island.