Joanna
uvj at vsnl.com wrote:
>HindustanTimes.com
>
>Thursday, October 28, 2004
>
>Cuba may permit euro beyond tourist spots
>
>Associated Press
>Havana, October 28
>
>Communist officials are thinking about extending the use
>of the euro beyond a few resorts for vacationing Europeans as the country
>moves to halt widespread use of the American dollar, Cuba's tourism minister
>said on Wednesday.
>
>Since Fidel Castro's Government decided to replace the US
>dollar with the local Cuban convertible peso, authorities "have been
>studying coordinating with Cuba's Central Bank to extend the acceptance of
>the euro in other areas of the country, Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero
>said.
>
>The euro currently is accepted at several coastal resorts
>on this Caribbean island, including Varadero beach, east of Havana, and
>Jardines del Rey, located in a string of keys along the main island's
>northern central coast.
>
>The European currency is also accepted at hotels,
>restaurants, shops and other businesses in the eastern beach resorts of
>Santa Lucia, Covarrubias and Holguin, and Cayo Largo del Sur, off the main
>island's southwestern coast.
>
>Cuba, which hopes to receive two million visitors this
>year, is a popular vacation spot for Europeans.
>
>Extending the use of the euro outside those tourism areas
>could make Cuba a more attractive destination for Europeans, who would no
>longer have to change the European Union's common currency into US dollars
>for use on the island.
>
>Increasing acceptance of the euro would also help Cuba
>start building a new hard currency base as it removes the US currency from
>general circulation.
>
>President Fidel Castro announced on Monday night that his
>government was launching a two-week process Tuesday to eliminate the US
>currency from circulation in its stores and businesses in response to
>stepped-up American sanctions.
>
>"It is recommended that after that date that visitors to
>the country don't carry United States dollars," Marrero said. Instead, they
>should bring euros, Canadian dollars, British sterling pounds or Swiss
>francs, he added.
>
>Once in Cuba, tourists can exchange those foreign
>currencies for the Cuban convertible currency _ unless they are already in
>an area where the euro is freely accepted at businesses. Marrero said about
>75 per cent of visitors to Cuba come from countries where the US dollar is
>not commonly used.
>
>Tourism is one of Cuba's most important economic sectors,
>bringing in around $2 billion.
>
>© HT Media Ltd. 2004.
>
>
>
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