martes, 17 de enero de 2017

Travel industry hopes Trump doesn't upset fast-growing Cuban tourism

Travel industry hopes Trump doesn't upset fast-growing Cuban tourism
Trump has said he may scrap normalization unless the U.S. gets a 'better
deal'
01/16/2017 | ConsumerAffairs | Travel
By James R. Hood

Consumer Affairs' founder and former editor, Jim Hood formerly headed
Associated Press Broadcast News, directing coverage of major news events
worldwide. He also served as Senior Vice President of United Press
International and was the founder and editor of Zapnews, a newswire
service for radio and television.
Email Jim Hood Phone: 866-773-0221Google+

As the Trump Administration prepares for take-off, American businesses
are cautiously optimistic that the fabled real estate developer will
pursue business-friendly policies. But some business sectors are more
optimistic than others.

Airlines and the travel industry in general, for example, are hoping
that Trump's tirades against Mexico, Cuba, and other nations don't
restrict travel to those countries.

Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly expressed concern at an event in Tampa
about travel to Cuba, a fast-growing market for Southwest and other
carriers.

"Those flights have high demand both from the U.S. and from Cuba and
obviously we're hopeful that we can continue to operate them," Kelly
said, according to a report in the Tampa Bay Times. "If the government,
for other reasons decides that that's not possible obviously we'll obey
the law but we're hoping that's not the case."

Southwest is one of several U.S. airlines to begin flying to Cuba under
relaxed policies implemented by the Obama Administration, flying a
Havana-Tampa route for the last month. Trump has indicated he may take a
harsher approach to relations with the island nation, as well as other
Central and South American countries that are on Southwest's radar.

Kelly noted that while Southwest remains a primarily domestic carrier,
it has been adding flights to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean
through a new five-gate international terminal it's building at Fort
Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Changed course
Trump was uncharacteristically silent last week when the Obama White
House reversed the decades-old "west foot/dry foot" policy that allowed
any Cuban who managed to make it to U.S. shores to remain here legally,
although he had said last year that the policy was "not fair."

Although the decision was sudden, there was general agreement that
either Congress or Trump would have revoked the special treatment that
Cuban refugees have long enjoyed.

Despite the continuing wrangling over Cuban immigration and trade
policy, tourism to the long-isolated country is booming, with a record 4
million visitors last year. With new cruise and airline routes now
operating, Cuban tourism officials are expecting at least 100,000 more
visitors this year.

That could, of course, all change in a tweet. Trump has warned he may
scrap the whole Cuba normalization process started by Obama in December
2014 unless the U.S. gets a "better deal."

Source: Travel industry hopes Trump doesn't upset fast-growing Cuban
tourism -
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/travel-industry-hopes-trump-doesnt-upset-fast-growing-cuban-tourism-011617.html

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