Editorial: The changing face of Cuba
Published on Friday, April 18, 2008
In a commentary carried on Wednesday by our sister publication Caribbean
Net News and re-produced on this page, the Council on Hemispheric
Affairs (COHA) dealt with the far-reaching and escalating changes that
have been taking place in Cuba since Raul Castro took over as president
from his brother Fidel earlier this year.
COHA posed the question as to whether or not the US administration is
blind to those changes, given its failure thus far to respond to them in
any meaningful way.
We must also ask if the Cayman Islands will be equally blind to the
changes in Cuba.
As we have pointed out on several previous occasions, Cuba represents a
major, and potentially devastating future competitor for our tourism
sector and it therefore makes sense that we re-examine our policies
towards Cuba as a matter of urgency.
Surely there will be significant op****tunities to supply goods and
services, as well as two-way employment op****tunities, and it would be
better to jump on the bandwagon now before Jamaica and other CARICOM
countries beat us to this market.
There is no doubt that Cuba with a population of over 11 million – well
more than three times that of Jamaica -- is the sleeping giant of our
region and, compared to the Cayman Islands, has vast resources of raw
materials, agricultural products and labour, all at greatly reduced cost
in comparison to what is typical here.
Cuba and the Cayman Islands have a degree of shared history that ought
to stand us in good stead. Many Caymanians have Cuban roots and,
conversely, many Cubans have Caymanian roots.
Indeed, given the proximity and the historical family and other
connections between Cuba and the Cayman Islands, Cuba is far more of a
natural trading partner than some Central American countries that have
recently been receiving attention.
To our mind, Cuba therefore represents both an op****tunity for increased
trade and co-operation, as well as an eventual threat as a competitor
for tourism dollars.
In recent years, there has been a steady flow of commerce and tourism to
Cuba from the Cayman Islands as a result of the air service from Grand
Cayman, not the least of which has been the op****tunity to obtain good
quality health care at a far lower cost than in the United States.
The reverse flow of unwanted migrants from Cuba has been something of a
headache for the authorities here but, as the situation improves in
Cuba, the incentive for refugees to try to escape will diminish.
On the other hand, controlled, legal guest workers from Cuba might
represent an alternative for us to foreign labour from Jamaica, the
Philippines and Central America.
In the meantime, most if not all independent countries in the Caribbean
enjoy good and mutually beneficial relations with Cuba.
Cuba has provided assistance to our regional neighbours in several
areas, including health care, education and energy conservation. No
doubt Cuba had its own agenda in so doing, even if no more altruistic
than wanting to put Wa****ngton's nose out of joint.
Nevertheless, CARICOM countries by and large have excellent access to
Cuba and its leaders, whereas we have always been bound by British
policy and protocol.
Hotel chains in Jamaica already operate hotels in Cuba and Air Jamaica
also has regular flights there, providing the potential for
multi-destination tourism between Cuba and Jamaica.
Surely there will be similar op****tunities for multi-destination travel
between Cuba and the Cayman Islands that we need to be thinking about
now rather than when our competitors have beaten us to the punch.
Clearly, we are not going to be able to compete with the initial novelty
value of Cuba as a "new" vacation destination for Americans, but we
should be planning for the inevitable and doing our best to profit from
it instead of relying on the customary knee-jerk reaction.
Regrettably, tourism management here still seems to be very much on
auto-pilot, in the apparent expectation that visitors are going to
continue to come just because we're here.
The tourism sector in the Cayman Islands is already facing some
significant challenges in the years ahead and another strong regional
competitor in the shape of Cuba is not going to make life any easier for
tourism stakeholders.
We need to get on the ball now, before it is too late.
http://www.caymannetnews.com/news-6774--8-8--.html
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