by Donald Wood
Last updated: 3:15 PM ET, Wed May 17, 2017
As the Latin American Hotel and Tourism Investment Conferences opens in Cuba this week, major hotel chains like Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Choice and Wyndham are in support.
According to Reuters.com, conference president Arturo Garcia believes the focus from United States-based hotel companies on development in Cuba is a strong indication that President Donald Trump will not shut the door on expansion in the island nation.
After Starwood became the first American hospitality company to operate a Cuban hotel in more than half a century, more companies are looking to invest. With U.S. tourism to the island increasing since travel restrictions were lifted, more hotel companies are considering expanding into the Cuban market.
"We are very interested in Cuba as a destination for our guests," Hyatt senior vice president David Tarr said in a statement. "Certainly we hope relations will be normalized. Our guests want to visit, which is why we are here."
Cuban tourism officials reported four million arrivals during 2016 and an 18 percent increase thus far in 2017. Of the four million tourists who visited the country last year, an estimated 285,000 were Americans.
[READMORE] READ MORE: Cuba Continues to Grow As a Cruise Destination[/READMORE]
"Slowly but surely we are learning about the conditions here and our company is working together with the U.S. authorities in this process," Wyndham's Latin American and Caribbean development director Louis Alicea told Reuters.com.
Citing European and Canadian firms that moved into Cuba following the fall of the Soviet Union, World Travel and Tourism Council President David Scow believes companies in the U.S. will follow a similar gameplan.
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