Volume: 14  Number: 1  Page: 6–23

Ecotourism and Sustainability in Cuba: Does Socialism Make a Difference?

Anthony Winson Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph, Canada

This paper offers an empirical case study of ecotourism in the island state of Cuba. The paper attempts to gauge the success Cuba has had in establishing eco-tourist practices that could be considered sustainable, and provides analysis of the various political factors that condition this success. Using some well-known benchmarks of sustainable eco-tourist practices, the paper presents the results of numerous interviews with key informants involved with ecological tourism in Cuba, archival research and observations from on-site visits to key ecotourism projects to examine the relative success of ecotourism on the island. Concluding that Cuba has had mixed success in moving to sustainable ecotourism, the paper examines the various political constraints that will likely determine the trajectory of Cuba’s ecotourism in the near and medium term.

Keywords: ecotourism, Cuba, sustainability, politics, socialism, Las Terrazas

© 2006 A. Winson

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