Cuban Tourism Industry

Paolo Spadoni is Associate Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at Augusta University. He is the author of Cuba’s Socialist Economy Today: Navigating Challenges and Change (2014), and Failed Sanctions: Why the U.S. Embargo against Cuba Could Never Work (2010).José Luis Perelló Cabrera is a retired Professor at the Faculty of Tourism of the University of Havana and an advisor to the Development Directorate of the Ministry of Tourism of Cuba.

• Foreword John M. KirkIntroductionChapter 1: Historical Development and Trends of Tourism in CubaChapter 2: International Tourism in Cuba in the Post-Cold War Era, 1990–2014Chapter 3: International Tourism in Cuba, 2015–2019Chapter 4: International Tourism in Cuba and the Caribbean, 1990–2019: A ComparisonChapter 5: International Tourism in Cuba and the Caribbean in the Post-COVID EraChapter 6: Rebirth Rather Than RecoveryBibliographyIndex

Rich with historical context, economic data, and fascinating analysis, The Cuban Tourism Industry is a long-overdue and comprehensive study of tourism in a country with one of the largest tourism sectors in the Caribbean. It is an impressive contribution to our understanding of Cuba’s complex history with tourism, from the earliest colonial period though to the current era. It deftly explores the role of tourism in the Cuban economy through the revolutionary period, examines the dramatic changes to this industry in the post-Cold War era, and addresses the opening shepherded in by Barack Obama and Raul Castro. It then offers an analysis of the influence of pandemic era restrictions and the reversal of US policy. The authors bring the study to a close with recommendations for a rebirth rather than a simple recovery of the industry. It also draws astute comparisons with other Caribbean states, offering a volume that would be of wide interest to scholars and practitioners of tourism in the Caribbean as well as those with a particular interest in Cuba.