MIAMI, United States. – The British daily newspaper The Telegraph, whose print run is among the largest within and beyond the United Kingdom, stated that Cuba, without the economic and financial embargo imposed on the island, “could be the next great cruise ship vacation destination.”
The paper indicates that Cuba’s location “temptingly close to the Florida coastline” makes of the island an ideal destination in the Caribbean region. However, it states that the U.S. embargo makes development of this tourism sector an impossible task.
In that regard, The Telegraph refers to the opening launched by the administration of Barack Obama, that allowed cruise ship travel and reopened commercial air operations between the two countries.
In the opinion of the British daily newspaper, with Donald Trump no longer in the White House, any opening toward the island “would be welcomed with open arms by cruise lines eager to fill the enormous void in their itineraries.”
It also indicates that “several cruise line executives, such as Frank del Rio, president and executive director of Norwegian Cruise Line, NCL Holdings’ parent company (himself a Cuban refugee who arrived in the U.S. when he was a child) and Tom McAlpin, executive director of Virgin Voyages, are enthusiastic supporters of the reinstatement of cruise travel to the island.”
President Joe Biden set the stage for the return of cruise ships to Cuba during his presidential campaign, when he promised to reverse Trump’s policy toward Cuba if he was elected.
Regardless –adds The Telegraph– the possible changes announced, if they were to take place, could take a long time.
“The administration has been reluctant until now to provide clear answers. What is clear is that all officials have indicated that we will have to wait,” stated Tom Popper to the British daily. Popper is founder and former president of InsightCuba, a publication that specializes in U.S. travel.
For now, the new Democratic administration has stated repeatedly that any conversation with regimes like Cuba’s will be based on respect for human rights.
With Cuba specifically, Washington has shown preoccupation with the constant violations of human rights against activists, opposition leaders and independent journalists, a situation that could delay any easing of sanctions imposed between 2017 and 2021.
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