U.S. Yachts to Soon Overwhelm Cuba?
As you know, I am very bullish on Florida’s prospects regarding the potential trade and tourism with Cuba. I told you that the tourism would begin with large cruise ships because Cuba doesn’t have the hotel infrastructure to handle large volumes of tourists. But what I didn’t think about was all the smaller sea traffic that would be permitted. This article examines what could soon be a flood of luxury boats to Cuban ports with the loosing of travel restrictions, which can happen without lifting the embargo. Not only U.S. yachts are expected in this flood but also luxury vessels from other places as well. For one of these sleek yachts it is just a 4 hour trip from Florida’s Key West to Hemmingway Marina in Havana.
These boats have all the trimmings, including satellite television, bedrooms, bars, etc. They are truly floating luxury hotels and pretty soon they will be able to travel freely to Cuba. Right now only certain permits have been granted to sailboats, ferry companies, 4 cruise lines and one yacht broker. That is expected to grow rapidly once large scale sea travel is authorized by the U.S. government. So we will soon essentially step back in time, before the embargo, when people traveled to Cuba freely from Florida for short weekend trips. I think this will go a long way towards helping Cuban citizens economically while also furthering our capitalistic market aspirations there. It should also foster more trade, and good will I am sure.
It is very exciting, the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. One that should greatly benefit South Florida for years to come. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.
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