CUBA: The Great Disruption for the Good of the Caribbean. The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association states its views.
The biggest and most disruptive pebble to be dropped into the Caribbean pool in fifty years will arrive with the opening of travel to Cuba for United States citizens. The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) has extensively discussed the implications of this momentous event and the following is a summary of its views.
The CHTA expects that those islands and countries nearest to Cuba will feel the greatest ripple effects and believes it would be wise for them to begin planning ways to mitigate those effects now. As for the other destinations in the Caribbean, the CHTA is of the view that the consequences might be more muted but in the end the total Caribbean travel landscape will be changed forever.
There is ample time and opportunity for the net effects to be positive for the Caribbean as a whole. But as for the individual effects by country, those will depend on both individual and collective action in avoiding the longstanding Caribbean malaise of “business as usual”.
The Caribbean, the most tourism dependent region in the world could use a good shaking up. For decades, with few exceptions, it has relied on its natural advantages of sun, sand, sea, welcoming populations and, more than anything else, its relative proximity to the United States, the largest economy on earth, for much of its success. For decades, many Caribbean governments appear to have grudgingly accepted the employment and foreign exchange benefits delivered by their tourism economies but have not provided the kind of attention and support to tourism that could further reduce the crushingly high and debilitating levels of unemployment and national debt which often plague their countries.
Read more online about “The Great Disruption for the Good of the Caribbean” .
From November 15-17, 2015, experts from the areas of business, government, academia and civil society, will meet at the Hyatt Regency in Miami to discuss the evolution of trade and investment in the Caribbean Basin as the United States moves towards the normalization of relations with Cuba.
Join Caribbean-Central American Action for two days of panels and networking, as we examine trade and investment trends in the Caribbean Basin and the impact of an emergent Cuba.
Early Bird Registration! For a limited time only, CCAA is offering an early bird rate of $500.00 to all participants through July 31, 2015.
