{"id":200720,"date":"2019-06-15T18:32:53","date_gmt":"2019-06-15T22:32:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=200720"},"modified":"2019-06-15T18:32:53","modified_gmt":"2019-06-15T22:32:53","slug":"from-the-embrace-to-the-ax-travel-from-u-s-to-cuba-iii-and-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba-usa\/from-the-embrace-to-the-ax-travel-from-u-s-to-cuba-iii-and-end\/","title":{"rendered":"From the embrace to the ax: travel from U.S. to Cuba (III and end)"},"content":{"rendered":"

A preliminary look reveals that the suspension of U.S. cruises will have a specific impact on the Cuban economy, but it is far from being the end of the world, although it is taking place at a very complicated time.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to estimates by <\/span>John Kavulich<\/span><\/a>, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, in 2018 cruise ships contributed between 63 and 107 million dollars to the Cuban government, quite modest figures considering the 2.5 billion in revenue the Ministry of Tourism reported that year. The classic slip-up: “What Cuba earns for cruises is insignificant. The bulk of the money is earned by the cruise company,” said <\/span>Emilio Morales<\/span><\/a>, president and CEO of Havana Consulting Group.<\/span><\/p>\n

But undeniably the services provided to American cruise passengers strengthened and created new links in a whole network, especially in Old Havana and its surroundings, even though, in fact, this type of tourism always leaves less money than the hotel stays, especially since visitors spend the night in their large floating hotel, where practically all the services are available to them.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, several testimonies have been underlining the impact of the measure among Cuban entrepreneurs: “This is another hard blow,” Miguel \u00c1ngel Morales, owner of “La Moneda Cubana,” a restaurant in the Historic Center of Havana, told the<\/span> Los Angeles Times. <\/span><\/a>“About 50% of our business comes from cruises.” “This affects us all,” said William Mart\u00ednez, 58, who lived in Florida for 46 years but returned five years ago and today makes his living driving a vintage convertible for tourists.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is another contradiction. Things such as <\/span>not granting<\/span><\/a> private workers five-year multiple-entry visas, therefore preventing them from buying goods and having horizontal links with their counterparts in Key West, as well as suspending the cruises, can hardly be considered steps to help them become independent from the government. Meanwhile, in the message of those entrepreneurs, among which there are many Cuban millennials, there is little empathy with the changes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Elimination of 5-year visas: a mini-blockade for Cuban private sector<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n