Government Says Tourism Solves Cuba’s Main Problems  

Tourism officials tell the national government TV audience revenue from the sector serves to develop the country.

By 14ymedio

HAVANA TIMES – On Tuesday the official media announced the topic to be discussed on the Mesa Redonda (Round Table) program, was “Cuban Tourism: The Destination is You”. Cuban economist in exile Pedro Monreal took it as a joke and pointed out—before presenting data on the sector—that it sounded like the title of a bolero.

In reality, it’s the slogan of the most recent campaign by the Ministry of Tourism, and it resurfaced during the television broadcast from the mouths of attending officials. Amid the weariness of a population aware that tourism drains the State’s coffers without attracting enough visitors to refill them, convincing people that the return on investment is coming, and will benefit them, has become increasingly important.

In that regard, the lengthy preamble by Susset Rosales Vázquez, Director General of Planning and Development at the Ministry of Economy, got straight to the point. “What the Revolution does in terms of tourism is simply to solve the essential problems of the people,” she said, quoting Fidel Castro, who only became a supporter of the sector after the Soviets left with perestroika.

To summarize, Rosales laid out a barrage of wonders supposedly made possible by tourism in Cuba, starting with what she called “fresh foreign currency.” “It allows us to balance the trade deficit, exports and imports, finance the sector’s main priorities but also, at the same time, and this is very important, it allows us to finance priorities in other sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, and those that have direct benefits for the population, for society, for communities…”

The list of tourism’s benefits was endless. She mentioned agriculture (for supplying hotels and restaurants), airports, culture, heritage preservation, and natural areas… Everything that is improved for tourists ends up benefiting the people, she claimed. Things turned almost comic when she also cited highways, drinking water, cars and taxis, and best of all, electricity.

“The enemies of the Revolution know what tourism means for the vitality of our country and also for the prosperity of our people. That’s why they constantly attack it. Tourism is a driver, a strategic pillar for the economic and social development of the country,” she insisted.

If the state of everything she mentioned is any indication of the progress of tourism, it became abundantly clear what the result is of having empty hotels. And vice versa. And if the intention was to get the population to accept tourism as a necessary sacrifice due to its supposed returns, it’s doubtful the goal was achieved.

To illustrate tourism’s wonders with an example, the Round Table featured Javier Toledo, Vice President of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources. He was the only guest to provide statistics, though perhaps not enough to satisfy the million Cubans who do not receive water regularly. One of the main objectives of the national water plan, he noted, is “to guarantee infrastructure for the country’s tourism development.”

Since that might not sound too good in a country with such unstable water supply, Toledo tried to clarify—in his own way—that whenever a major water project is undertaken for a hotel, the surrounding communities also benefit. “We do a comprehensive analysis of the entire area, of the entire community, of the entire population that could have problems with the service in that location. And based on that, we design the systems with an integrated perspective,” he said. Roughly translated, if you live in a remote area, forget about getting a decent pipeline.

Thanks to his remarks, however, it became known that the tourism sector helps fund some of these projects, which he called “induced.” “Tourism contributes significant financing to many of these programs that, at certain times, aren’t covered by central government funding, especially for technology-related issues, pumping equipment, chlorination systems, even desalination plants,” he explained.

According to him, over the past three years, more than 125 kilometers of large pipelines have been built that didn’t exist before, along with over 350 kilometers of supply networks in nearby towns. Twenty-seven new potable or wastewater pumping stations have been constructed, as well as seven wastewater treatment plants. In total, 300,000 people have benefited from annual investments of $300 million. That figure is “considerable,” he added, though still small compared to the population that turns on the tap and gets nothing.

Toledo also announced several new projects, including a “macro-investment”—with no figures provided—for a water diversion in Holguín that will benefit around 50,000 people, including those in remote areas who used to get water from tanker trucks. He also mentioned housing construction in Santa Lucía (Camagüey), which has required hydraulic works to support this new tourist hub.

Among the many other projects underway in different provinces, he referred to the Palatino pipeline (Havana), whose first expansion phase has been completed. “Tourism has financed various pieces of equipment to strengthen and stabilize water pumping during the summer,” he emphasized. The example was unfortunate, since just hours earlier a breakdown of several motors in that same major pipeline had left the Plaza de la Revolución municipality with virtually no water pressure.

There was time for several other interventions, from executives in camping services and the Gran Caribe hotel group, to William Díaz Dueñas, General Director of Fruta Selecta Trading Company, who brought a couple of good-news items. He said that his goal is for 100% of his company’s production to supply tourism, since the foreign currency it earns is reinvested back into the producers, with whom—he claimed—there are no outstanding payments.

“With this foreign currency, we’ve purchased a range of equipment for producers, so they can work more comfortably and thus produce higher-quality goods with added value,” he concluded, also announcing plans to open “a store for producers in the coming months, stocked with supplies made possible by these tourism-generated revenues.”

First published in Spanish by 14ymedio and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.

Read more from Cuba here on Havana Times.