From Fox News Latino

(EFE) The historic shift in diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba could be an opportunity for the island to emerge as one of the biggest competitors in the Caribbean tourist market, where large Spanish hotel chains enjoy a privileged position.

The announcement this past week by the governments of Cuba and the United States of a process of normalizing bilateral diplomatic relations, broken off in 1961, opens up new possibilities for the communist regime.

Despite the fact that Cuba has been a prime tourist destination since the 1990s, in the competition for market share it came to the party much later than Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

Nevertheless, by virtue of its natural beauty and tourist facilities, tourism has become the main business engaged in by Spanish firms on the island, with 75 percent of Madrid’s investments concentrated in the sector, according to figures provided by the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade, or ICEX.

The first Spanish hotel in the modern era was established on the island 25 years ago and currently there are 27 such hotels with 13,000 rooms run by Spanish firms in Cuba.

The executive vice president for Exceltur, a Spanish tourist professionals association, Jose Luis Zoreda, sees an “immense world” of business opportunities for Spain emerging from the Cuban opening.

Most of the tourists visiting Cuba come from Canada, Germany and Britain, but a sizable number also come from Venezuela, Mexico and Spain.

Cuba has 60,500 hotel rooms at present and expects to have 85,000 by 2020.

It is also expected that the reestablishment of diplomatic ties between Washington and Havana will benefit Spanish and European exports to the island, according to the president of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, Jose Luis Bonet. EFE

For more on this story go to: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/12/21/cuban-opening-to-increase-caribbean-tourist-competition/

Related story:

Cuba to market aged Habanos cigars

From Caribbean News Now

HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) — Cuba will bring to the international market two new types of Habanos cigars, aged between five and eight years in perfect condition, allowing smokers to enjoy a high quality product.

The launch of aged Romeo y Julieta Pyramids and aged Montecristo Churchills cigars is part of a strategy to diversify the production of Habanos SA responsible for their marketing.

Both new cigars will be launched in the first quarter of 2015 and made available as a special edition in limited quantities and in a single presentation, a press release stated.

These cigars will be sold in their original boxes of 25 units, which remained untouched throughout the aging process, and were described with the associated ratings of each brand for their release.

The casing has a double ring, with the words “aged” and the brand, in which the concept is explained.

Among the security measures that attest to their age is the stamp of the date they were rolled, with a further stamp with the word “Revised”, when the drawers were opened and checked individually.

For more on this story go to: http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/topstory-Cuba-to-market-aged-Habanos-cigars-24119.html