Cuba’s popularity concerns Caribbean tourism officials, prompts them to seek US help
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) _ Caribbean tourism officials are pushing for a partnership with the U.S. government because of concerns that warming relations between the U.S. and Cuba will result in a significant loss of visitors to the rest of the region.
The CEO of the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association says Cuba has seen such a surge in visitors that the fragile budgets of many tourism-dependent islands will be hit hard if they don’t take action.
Frank Comito said Wednesday that the association seeks to create a Caribbean Basin Tourism Initiative to help boost investment and travel across the region with help from the U.S. government. The plan would be modeled off the Caribbean Basin Initiative, a U.S.-led program in the 1980s that sought to boost trade in the Caribbean and Central America.
www.jamaicaobserver.com
Alwin Marshall-Squire is the Editor-in-Chief of S-Q Publications Inc., overseeing editorial strategy for GTA Weekly, GTA Today, and Vision Newspaper. He leads the publications’ mission to deliver bold, original journalism focused on the people and communities of the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, and the global Caribbean diaspora.
Also writes for GTA Weekly and GTA Today.
