So you want to go to Cuba?

Then you should read La Contra Revolución today. It’s no wonder that the regime is pulling out all the stops in trying to get the travel restrictions lifted. El Gusano quotes from El Nuevo Herald:

Most of Cuba’s tourism facilities were built in the 1990s and have received little maintenance since then, said a MinTur official who asked for anonymity out of fear of government punishment.

“The structure created for years in the tourism industry is crumbling piecemeal,” the employee said. “Tourism in Cuba is headed for chaos and it will take years to revert the present situation.”

“What’s happening in tourism is a reflection of a behavior that has spread nationwide,” said dissident economist Oscar Espinosa Chepe on the phone from Havana. “People are disgusted with the economic situation at home, workers don’t take pride in their work and inertia corrupts the entire organization.”

3 thoughts on “So you want to go to Cuba?”

  1. I emailed something regarding this to Val this morning “Trying to reverse the trend, MinTur announced a strategic plan for 2007 that involves support for investments, construction of new facilities and repairs of existing hotels. The plan also envisions improved highways and road signs, and guarantees of electricity and water for the tourism industry.”
    I though it unique that they would add road signs, electricity, and water. I thought Utopia had those things already and now they consider it an upgrade. Cuba BC had road signs, electricity, and water. So if they blame the embargo for the loss of these options, then how can they regain these with the said embargo still in place? Hmmm.

  2. It’s amazing how many people who would never have vacationed in apartheid-era South Africa have no problem at all doing it in Cuba. Of course, Cuba is far more exotic and even glamorous, in a sense, so the appeal is stronger. Still, the incongruity, not to say hypocrisy, is blatant.

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