![\"2.-Bus-turismo](\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/2.-Bus-turismo-cuba.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\u201cHotel Pernik, Holguin. How can we help you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to book three rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, sir, we\u2019ve been instructed not to make any more bookings at the front desk. You have to do it through an agency.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHavanatur, good morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to book three rooms at the Hotel Pernik in Holguin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, the system\u2019s down and we can\u2019t do any bookings at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHotel Pernik, Holguin, so-and-so speaking, how may I help you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I called the hotel and they told me I had to make my bookings through an agency. We went to Havanatur and they told us your system is down and that they can\u2019t make any reservations at this time. Could you tell me how I can book my rooms, then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHavanatur can\u2019t make any bookings at this hotel, see. You have to call Isla Azul in Holguin and make your booking through them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood morning, Isla Azul, so-and-so speaking, how may I help you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to book three rooms at the Pernik in Holguin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many people will be staying at the hotel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why do you want to book three rooms?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they want to stay in separate rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a question of what they want to do, but how the hotel can accommodate them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no \u201cbuts\u201d, sir, we have many booking requests right now. It seems all of Havana is sending people down here. They don\u2019t stop coming, we can\u2019t keep up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s see if we can understand one another. They will pay you for three rooms, but they have to be separate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not the way things work. We decide how to accommodate the guests, and they have to share a room.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, sir, that\u2019s what we can do for you now. Should I book you the room or not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m actually not sure, because two of them are foreigners and I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll be too happy about having to share a room.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should have said so at the start. If they\u2019re foreign, then there\u2019s no problem. We\u2019ll book three separate rooms for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGreat. What\u2019s my booking number?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t give it to you now, the hotel system is down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cuba\u2019s hotel, transportation and tourism infrastructure in general leave a lot to be desired in terms of efficiency.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
These conversations may seem like a joke, but they\u2019re absolutely true. We could say they are part of the everyday, \u201cmagic realism\u201d of socialism (perhaps not as \u201creal\u201d as Soviet socialism, but certainly a lot less \u201cupdated\u201d than we would want).<\/p>\n
Many tourists come to the country hoping to plunge into this fantastic, Caribbean isle, but most like to look at it from the outside, without the wheels of bureaucracy grinding their vacations into bits with absurd resolutions and restrictions.<\/p>\n
Cuba faces the imminent challenge of increased tourism from the United States, one of its closest and most profitable markets. It is estimated the inflow of US tourists that are to visit Cuba in the coming years could double the total number of tourists currently traveling to the island.<\/p>\n
These are demanding people who must be handled with \u201csilk gloves\u201d, if the country wishes to see them return. Failing this, this market will have been ruined in a few years and the country will lose a historic opportunity to make a leap forward in the industry.<\/p>\n
Growth will continue to be slow for the time being, but, as soon as Washington authorizes tourism in Cuba, many US citizens will travel to the island to see with their own eyes this small and strange country that survived the hostility of eleven US presidents.<\/p>\n
There are practically no true, luxury hotels in Cuba.<\/p>\n
In the beginning, the allure of the forbidden will suffice to draw hundreds of thousands of people to the island, but much more than the country\u2019s natural beauty, Cubans\u2019 educational level and general safety will be required to make them come back and become regular visitors.<\/p>\n
This will be difficult to achieve while tourists find that many suites in a 5-star, seaside hotel have broken ACs, the ice-machine is broken and that the foreign manager of an establishment has no choice but to wait tables owing to personnel shortages.<\/p>\n
For decades, we heard speeches in Cuba warning of the dangers that the island\u2019s proximity to the world\u2019s greatest military power entailed. Now, the Americans are finally coming, but they are coming in peace, and it would be very ironic if the country were not prepared for this.<\/p>\n
![\"3.-Maletas-calle](\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/3.-Maletas-calle-turistas-cuba.jpg\")
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