Raul Castro's government opened luxury hotels and resorts to all Cubans Monday, ending a ban despised across the island as "tourist apartheid" and taking another step toward the creation of a consumer economy in the socialist state.
Cuba has made a series of crowd-pleasing announcements in the past few days. Cubans with enough cash will be able to buy computers, DVD players and plasma televisions starting Tuesday, and soon they'll even be able to have their own cell phones — consumer goods only companies and foreigners were previously permitted to buy.
But the latest surprise, allowing ordinary citizens into luxury hotels and resort beaches long reserved for rich foreigners, is a particularly symbolic victory for Cuba's everyman.
"I was born here and live here. I believe, as a Cuban, I have the right to it all," said Elizabeth Quintana, a Havana resident. "It's good. Really good."
While there was no official word from the government, hotel employees said Ministry of Tourism officials told them that as of Monday, Cubans can stay in hotels and resorts across the island, and pay to use gyms, hair salons and other previously off-limit facilities. Cubans can even rent cars for the first time.
For now, few Cubans can afford a night at a hotel on a government salary, but that could change if Castro succeeds in increasing his citizens' spending power.
Meanwhile, the government is creating the kinds of consumer incentives any economy needs to thrive. For many years, Cubans haven't been able to buy certain electronic goods, lounge by the rooftop pool at the Hotel Capri or enjoy a drink at sunset on the grounds of the historic Hotel Nacional, no matter how much money they earned
As with other guests, the hotels will charge Cubans in convertible pesos, or CUCs, worth 24 times the regular pesos most Cubans earn. The four-star Ambos Mundos, a favorite of Ernest Hemingway in Old Havana, charges $173 a night in high season — more than eight times the average monthly state salary of about $20.
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