HAVANA, Cuba. – The urgency of attracting a low number of international tourists at the start of tourism high season, in light of Caribbean destinations that are more competitive regarding quality and prices, is the reason that Cuba has moved up to November 7th the date for relaxing COVID-19 protocols, like eliminating the compulsory quarantine. In addition, starting on the 15th, international travelers who arrive in Cuba will only have to present their health passport or an international vaccination certificate, according to Tourism Minister Juan Carlos García Granda, who spoke on the subject at a press conference.
For the same reason, the reopening of Havana was moved up to October 20th. Cuba’s main tourist destinations –Havana and Varadero- will have to be at their best and, above all, control the COVID-19 pandemic. Until now, the Matanzas province resort has remained opened to international visitors, although at reduced capacity, with restrictive measures, and closed-off to Cuban nationals.
Havana is in urgent need of productive activities in order to revive the ruined national economy, to propitiate a decent living for its residents, and to assist in the recovery of the psychological damages caused by a shutdown that has lasted more than a year and a half. Havana will show novelties to tourists, like stores that sell in Cuban pesos whose shelves are empty, as well as the long shopping lines at hard-currency establishments.
The huge crowds of anguished Cubans waiting on line for days at those shops have been rerouted to adjacent streets in an attempt to hide them from tourists, who are only interested in their own safety and leisure.
The situation now calls for coming up with new options to amuse the clients from the present tourist markets. The great attractions back in the good old days of the massive arrival of American tourists, were vintage cars from the fifties –the almendrones–, the home-based eateries called paladares, and the private room-and-board rentals. The Quincentennial of Havana should have resulted in the much-awaited 5 million tourists, for whose benefit great investments had been undertaken on credit. That notwithstanding, the collapse came in 2019 with former U.S. president Donald Trump’s measures which affected the Cuban government’s second source of revenue and the prosperity of private small businesses.
In March 2020, the first COVID-19 cases were detected in Cuba; with them came a debacle in the capital and in the nation. The economic measures announced by the Cuban government in the span of 10 years to open-up and eliminate obstacles, never materialized, and the economy continued sinking. To top it all, the reunification of currency and monetary exchange –the Reordering Task, as it is called- issued in January 2021 and expected to save the Cuban economy, strangled it even more.
In sum: imports decreased, production did not increase, and the availability of products vanished; a great inflation was generated, the illegal market flourished, and the recently- raised salaries plummeted. All this is what is in store for foreign tourists on November 15. As for Cubans, thousands still hope to emigrate once the borders are open.
Cuban authorities hope to welcome 100,000 tourists in the last 45 days of 2021. To attract them, they announce that more than 90% of the population is fully vaccinated.
A probable new outbreak of COVID-19 due to the [population’s regained mobility plus the influx of tourists in the country are a danger that will have to be tackled. Isolation destroys individual intellectual capabilities and finances, as well as the nation’s. It’s possible that humanity will have to learn to survive with coronavirus, as it has done with the common cold and dengue. Only personal, familial and working precautions can help us to overcome and survive during “the new normal.”
OPINION ARTICLE: The opinions expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of CubaNet.
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