Cuba Opens Development Door to Foreign Partners

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Cuba is the big "what if?" proposition of the Caribbean. Rich with ambiance and natural beauty, it languishes under the communist regime, untouched by the forces of capitalism for almost 50 years.

But there are signs Cuba yearns to enter the international second-home resort competition.

Last week the Cuban government announced a willingness to allow foreign companies to develop resort destinations on the island. There were even hints of permitting the type of long term, high-end residential vacation projects now common in eagerly capitalistic Caribbean destinations.

"A policy was approved that permits real estate development associated with tourism, fundamentally golf courses, marinas and other complementary tourist investments," tourism minister Manuel Marrero said at Cuba's annual international tourism fair.

The government is in advanced talks with "several potential foreign partners," Marrero said.

Golf appears to be the centerpiece of the new strategy. Currently there is only one golf course on the island, but there are plans to build 10 new facilities, the BBC reports.

European and Canadian companies have already offered plans for projects including apartments and villas, according to media reports. Under the new deal, foreign ownership would still be banned, but long term leases would be granted on golf course-related houses.

Of course, this is not the first time Cuba has made overtures to the international tourism industry.

"Part of the caution would be we've seen this before," John Kavulich, senior policy adviser at the New York-based U.S.-Cuba Economic Trade Council, told the Associated Press. "They're bringing it back, that's a good thing, but we need to see what happens."

Several factors may improve Cuba's positioning this time around, including the Obama administration's willingness to relax some travel restrictions between the U.S. and Cuba. Thanks in part to a new flow of Cuban-Americans, tourism to the island continues to grow, with the number of visitors rising 3.5 percent in 2009, Marrero said.

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