Shifting Realities
The Impact of the 2019 American Ban on Cuban Tourism
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Frank Vandall
I consider the economic impact on both the US and Cuba of the new ban on touring Cuba. The broad social and political reach of Americans not being able to visit Cuba is evaluated. The impact of Americans being banned from visiting Cuba will be substantial because it is a complete ban not merely an administrative hurdle. For a large number of American tourists with substantial disposable income, this ban is unfortunate because Cuba has been a high-ranking tourist destination for several years. Visiting Cuba has brought substantial dollars to Cuba and not to be overlooked, has provided tourism jobs in the US. In a most creative way visiting Cuba has provided Americans a concrete means to see and study a small communist nation first hand. All other nations are encouraged to travel to Cuba. The persons being held captive are the US tourists.
Luxury London Hotels and Leisure Pursuits in World War Two
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Carina Jane Mansey
The grand hotels of London struggled to keep their doors open in World War Two. With many men drafted into the armed services, they had lost their core labour force and their primary customer base. Travel and tourism were curtailed, which meant that a large sum of regular revenue was lost. Their central location in the capital made them a target for air raids, which also cost them more than money. Import restrictions and rationing posed a threat to their restaurants’ reputation as sites for luxury food consumption. However, exemplary customer service remained their priority, no matter the losses. This study explores the operations of London’s luxury hotels in World War Two, placing a special focus on the leisure pursuits of the guests that they hosted. With locations such as the Berkeley, the Dorchester, Grosvenor House, and the Savoy offering extravagances from cabaret, to caviar and cocktails, there is evidence of profligacy in the face of austerity. Government intervention to curb the waste of resources, such as capping hotel diners at five shillings and limiting meals to three courses, is evaluated, as will the social power relations that are observable in the hotels.
Chain Tourism: The Role of Social Networks and Place Attachments in Disaster Recovery
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Elyse Zavar, Brendan Lavy, Ronald Hagelman
When disasters impact places with tourism-based economies, the community’s recovery is tightly linked with the return of tourists, as well as with recreational and leisure amenities. In this paper, we examine the return of tourists, including their motivations regarding space and place, following Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm that swept across coastal Texas in August 2017. Many of the communities affected by Harvey have economies largely based on family recreation that draws on the local environmental amenities, such as beaches, as well as cultural heritage sites. Interviews in Rockport-Fulton, Texas with tourism-oriented business owners, staff, and tourists during the 2018 Independence holiday provided qualitatively-robust accounts of the community’s first major summer event following Harvey, and highlighted the importance of social networks and place attachment to bringing tourists to the recovering area. Identifying the concept of chain tourism, we examine the role of tourists in the recovery of impacted locations and consider strategies to draw on these social networks to increase the number of tourists visiting communities in recovery.
