Tourism is booming n Cuba.Two big international shocks to the Cuban economy have contributed to this development. First, Cuba can no longer depend on its main international commercial partners —Venezuela, Brazil, China— to subsidize its faltering economy. The second shock was the December 2014 rapprochement and relaxation of restrictions on U.S. travel to the island.The number of U.S. visitors doubled in 2016; by 2030 the Cuban government expects to host in excess of 10 million tourists. Despite these projections, Cuba's hospitality industry has increasingly lagged behind other countries in the region in the quality of its offerings and services.
Authors and experts assess the organizational structure and financial picture of the various players and offer policy options for Cuba to achieve its economic goals for the tourism sector and the country as a whole.They look at the role to be played by U.S. actors, including the government, to support that growth and also offer views on how the uncertainty of a new U.S. administration is affecting those expectations.