Cuba Looking to Become Gay Travel Hotspot

In light of a suggestion by a radio talkshow host on Newstalk 93FM some weeks ago during the Mind Doctor show on making Jamaica a kind of transgender tourist destination as well given our proximity to Cuba and their own forward thinking approach on sex and sexuality and with sex reassignment surgery also offered there I was not surprised to see this story cropping up.

The trans-tourism idea was discussed with none other than Dr. Karen Carpenter our own board certified Clinical Sexologist when a whole hour and a half was used on the radio channel to re-introduce transgenderism, Dr Carpenter had done so some years before where she also interviewed our own leading transgender voice Laura Garcia. 

also see: Radio program "Love & Sex" on Sexual Identities & Transgenderism (Were you born in the wrong body?)

Now to the post's gist:

Ryan Dixon of South Florida Gay News shared this.

Even with the US State Department travel restrictions and a checkered past of treating the gay community, Cuba is looking to attract LGBT travelers and bring them – and their money – to what was once a forbidden country to Americans.

From April 14 to 21, Insight Cuba, along with gay travel agency Coda International Tours, has put together a travel package to give LGBT people an exclusive seven-night trip to Havana and Cienfuegos full of one-of-a-kind art and cultural experiences.

Coda International Tours founder Jim Smith said gay travelers are “on the cutting edge” and the “first to establish trends.”

“[Gays] are going to places before they’re flooded with the average tourists,” Smith said in a statement. “Cuba is a very warm and friendly destination and a big draw right now, especially for the gay market.”

Tom Popper, president of Insight Cuba, agrees with Smith saying he and his company have crafted a custom itinerary and is thrilled to offer this particular program for the LGBT market.

“In addition to our signature people-to-people activities fostering touching exchanges with locals, participants will also be able to experience the thriving gay community in Cuba as the country propels towards more democratic ideals,” said Popper.

At $3,995 per person, that custom itinerary, which includes accommodations, all meals, guided activities, entrance fees to scheduled activities and in-country ground transportation, starts with five nights in Havana, then two nights in Cienfuegos and wrapped up with a day trip to colonial Trinidad. Highlights of the trip include:

• Walking through Old Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
• Engaging with resident musicians and artists at Callejon de Hamel, a street rife with art displays and public music performances.
• Attending a dance session of Ballet Folklorico de Trinidad.
• Visiting the artist Jose Fustar, dubbed the “Picasso of the Caribbean.”

For more details about this trip, visit Coda International Tours.

ENDS

I have always admired from afar Cuba's movement forward in a sense despite their communist regime but when it comes to sexuality they are aeons ahead of the rest of us in the Caribbean with their public television providing a vital stream of information that has helped to raise the profile of particular issues chief among them transgenderism.

There have been criticisms however over the years in terms of pre and post operative treatment with reports of botched surgeries and so on but Thailand of course is the center of it all with state assistance in some instances for persons who desire and qualify for major life changing experience.

Jamaica could do well with some pink dollars in an article/post in 2008 entitled Jamaica missing out on gay billions as published in the Jamaica Observer it delved into the possibility of earning more foreign exchange and given our recent rocky road via austerity to some fiscal stability we could do well with it. Here is an excerpt;

"Can Jamaica afford not to market itself to lucrative gay travel in an increasingly competitive global tourism market?" Chambers, a lecturer in Tourism at the University of Surrey, asked in a speech at the 2008 ACS Crossroads seminar last week at the University of the West Indies, Mona.

She said that Jamaica could earn a sizeable percentage of the market based on its comparative advantage in tourism. But she cautioned that first a "sanctioned gay space", must be established, otherwise "it cannot happen".
Two years ago, a transsexual porn star berated a risque hotel chain for cancelling its planned party in Jamaica.

Meanwhile fast forward to November 2012 where another article this time in the Gleaner looked at LGBT travel

LGBT Leisure travel market set to spike 

Tolerant industry

"Our hotels have always welcomed. We don't necessarily place ads advertising that we accept the LGBT, but we would never turn back persons because of their sexual preferences," said a Negril hotelier, who added that there is really no difference from how the LGBT market was treated by the average hotel 20 years ago.

"The industry has always been more tolerant than the rest of the society," said the hotelier, adding that there are many gays working in the tourism sector, so it's no big news.

Another hotelier says Jamaica is not ready for this market, which is a big mistake. "I have tried to target them in the past, but I have given up, because it's a hard sell, particularly because of our homophobic reputation," said the hotelier.

She said if members of the LGBT community were to turn up at her property they wouldn't be turned back. She admits that the market has huge potential of pumping foreign exchange into the island's coffers.