In the 20th century, Cuba experienced profound economic growth and the number of tourists visiting Cuba increased dramatically. In response to this, the Cuban government introduced a policy that favoured international students and travellers with the intention of improving the country’s economy. The result of this policy was Cubans travelling to countries like the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and other European countries. The increasing number of tourists and emigrants resulted in a significant increase in the population of Cuba.
Cubans have always had a big attraction for the Europeans, the Americans and the Asians. Cuba was and still is considered, a key colonial power in the region. The island was known as Spanish or Caribbean colonies because it incorporated the Spanish language, culture and also local cuisine into its Cuban style. The British were in Cuba just after the revolution, but left after the Monroe Doctrine was abolished. The Canadians were in Cuba since the 19th century and remained until the iglesia romantica came to be. All these factors gave Cuba a strong foreign influence during the colonial period.
Cuban cuisine is based on Latin and Caribbean influences and this continues even up to the present. Cuba is an important agricultural producer and exporter of food products. The main products exported are coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, chocolates, tea and coffee. The coffee that is grown and traded in Cuba is unique because it has a great taste, aroma and mouth-watering properties. However, the most popular coffee in Cuba is the espresso which is prepared to use the espresso machine that is only found in Cuba.
The Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago is one of the main sources of timber and is responsible for 90% of the wood used worldwide. Cuba is now a leading provider of timber and biobased pallets for shipping and processing. This has made Cuba one of the main exporters of timber to the world. In addition, Cuba is leading the way in terms of recycling and reusing materials and has created its own national industrial composting initiative.
Cuba’s main international airport is the San Jose in the city of Havana. Many airlines operate scheduled flights to Cuba and these include British Airways, US Airways and Continental Airlines. In fact, many airlines offer flight fares to Cuba via Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania at an unbelievably low cost. The low cost airlines have reduced prices on flights to all of these different islands. Even though there is no direct flight from the US to Cuba and even if there were, the cost of travelling from Europe to Cuba via London would be much more than flying to Cuba via any other method. The cost savings by booking direct would allow you to travel and explore Cuba for a much cheaper price.
If we were to include the capital of the Cuban islands Cuba would have to come in fourth in the ranking of most popular tourist destinations around the world. The island of Grenada has the highest percentage of tourists of any Caribbean island and this is mainly due to the fact that the British owned Grenada International Airport. If we were to rank the hotels in each of the four main islands Cuba would probably come in seventeenth out of the total seventy-two that are available to stay in Cuba. This is primarily because of the superior quality hotels that are available. The cost savings will allow you to spend your vacation on shopping and activities that are enjoyable and promote interaction between visitors and locals.
It is not possible for all tourists to obtain a passport and gain permanent residency in Cuba due to the language barrier and there are limited rail and road networks that link Cubas with other countries. However, most tourists who wish to visit Cuba and want to experience the unique culture, music, art, history and food of Cuba often do obtain a visitor’s visa and become resident citizens of the country. This allows them to visit freely as they please within a prescribed time period after their original visit. For example, tourists who become citizens of Cuba after spending a specified amount of time in the country can visit without a visa for two years.
