HAVANA — Cuba has approved con- struction of residential projects linked to resorts, the tourism minister said Tuesday, possibly opening the door for villas that could one day ring oceanfront golf courses and other vacation getaways.
Manuel Marrero said the communist- governed island is on pace for its third straight record year of foreign visitors, and it hopes to continue expanding into the little-tapped golf market. He said the government has green-lighted “real estate for tourist purposes,” without giving details. But the move may mean Cuba will allow tourist developments that include long-term residences — not just hotels catering to short- term visitors that now line the island’s beaches.
Investment firms in Canada and Europe have proposed building golf courses coupled with luxury housing under long-term leases with Cuba’s government. Endorsing residential zoning for tourism could be a first, albeit small, step toward making those projects a reality.
The island has only one 18-hole golf course, in Varadero, and hopes to build 10 more, but it has yet to break ground on any projects financed by foreigners.
Cuba began promoting large-scale tourism after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of its billions in annual subsidies to the island.
