Havana: Cuba is not ready for the throngs of American tourists who would be expected to visit the island if a US ban is ever lifted, but it has the time to build new hotels, a senior Cuban official said on Wednesday.
"We have time to build the hotel capacity for the day that happens," Cuba's deputy minister of Tourism Oscar Gonzalez said in an interview.
"It will take the United States some time to dismantle that infernal apparatus that has barred its citizens from traveling to Cuba," he said, referring to proposals in the US Congress to relax sanctions against Cuba.
Some US lawmakers are seeking to ease restrictions on travel and trade with Cuba, but even if Congress approves, their efforts are likely to face a veto by President George W Bush who has tightened sanctions in an effort to undermine Fidel Castro's government.
Cuba estimates one million Americans would visit in the first year after Washington ends a travel ban put in place more than four decades ago to isolate Castro's communist government.
Americans are expected to flood to Cuba to enjoy its pristine beaches, sip daiquiris at Ernest Hemingway's favorite bars and take a step back in time riding in vintage cars in a city that was once a Mafia playground.
By some estimates, there could be three million American tourists visiting Cuba within five years of an opening up of US travel.
Cuba would have to more than double its current capacity of 42,000 hotel rooms, Gonzalez said. The island has the potential for more than 250.000 rooms, he said.
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