Tourism, Geopolitics, Cuba and the New Airbus Airliner

[Vogon_Glory]

In case someone wasn't watching, a recent aviation development looks to help Cuba and other Caribbean countries to get by even better without so many US tourist dollars. Airbus has recently rolled out a new airliner design that has even more seating capacity than Boeing's famous 747. While chances for sales to US airlines might be iffy, these airliners are likely to find themselves in service with such carriers as Air France, Iberia and other European air carriers.

Does this have implications for Caribbean tourist destinations? You bet it does. That means more tourists flying for less expense than they would have if they'd taken an older, less fuel-efficient airliner.

Even now, as US tourists frequent such destinations as Martinique, Barbados, and Guadeloupe less often, their numbers are replaced by Europeans who fly in to enjoy Caribbean warmth. The falling dollar is no longer the undisputed king of Caribbean currencies; the Euro is the strongest pretender since the heyday of the British pound before World War II. Hotels remain open, restaurants continue to sever hungry patrons, and the beaches remain crowded. There is little or nothing preventing the new Airbus airliner from landing at Havana's Jose Marti or at Varadero.

Cosmic Commie-killers of the Caribbean like Gee Dubya Bush, Tom De Lay, Ros-Lehtinen, and the Diaz-Balart brothers may tighten travel restrictions for US tourists and Cuban emigre family members even further, but thanks to developments like the new Airbus, it's unlikely to have the desired impact as Cuban hotels fill up with vacationers from countries that respect Gee Dubya's Cuban blockade not a whit.