InternationalLiving.com

Nearly 50 years ago, and a few years into the ‘Cold War,’ the U.S. government decided to punish the country of Cuba for its political alignment with the Soviet Union. A trade embargo was imposed against our island neighbor, just 90 miles off the coast of the U.S.

Along with the trade embargo, a travel ban was imposed. And since then, U.S. citizens have been restricted from traveling or doing business in Cuba, except under special circumstances. Even though it’s a short flight or boat ride away, very few Americans have ever been there.

This year, though, as I told you in a previous postcard about the Cuba travel ban, President Barack Obama has loosened travel limitations for Cuban-Americans visiting family members and lifted caps on the amount of money Cuban-Americans may send relatives there.

And although Obama says he will maintain the trade embargo until Cuba changes its political and human rights policies, bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate to lift the travel restrictions.

Never before has there been such an upwelling of popular support for change to U.S.-Cuba travel policies. To date, 180 congressmen and 33 senators have sponsored the bipartisan Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act, which seeks to open up travel to Cuba for all U.S. citizens.

If that happens, there will be business, investment, and lifestyle opportunities in Cuba, beginning with tourism-related sectors.

With Cuba so close to the U.S., the first to benefit will undoubtedly be cruise lines and boat chartering companies. The Caribbean is the largest market for companies like Carnival and Royal Caribbean, and both companies saw stock shares rise more than 5% on the day U.S. and Cuban officials began initial discussions on migration this past July.

Airlines and airports, too, will benefit. The U.S. government has already approved flights from Miami, New York, and Los Angeles. Airports and airlines in Tampa, Key West, and Houston are petitioning to be next.

But what will happen to Cuba when millions of American tourists descend on the island?

The country’s tourism infrastructure is already overtaxed. Public transportation systems, including taxis, are abysmal. Hotels need renovation and more rooms are needed.

To accommodate the influx of Americans that would come if the travel ban were removed, Cuba plans to build at least 30 new hotels. Officials there say that every month brings more visits from American companies looking to get in early, and build hotel and golf course projects.

For now, though, individual entrepreneurs won’t find many opportunities in Cuba…the Cuban government doesn’t allow much private enterprise. Until policies change, you can’t go there and open a B&B, restaurant, T-shirt shop or any type of small mom-and-pop businesses. Very few Cubans are even allowed to do that.

But if you’re intent on finding a way to take advantage of emerging opportunities, if and when the travel ban is lifted, consider a custom niche-tour business that you run from the U.S. With nearly two million Americans jumping at the bit to visit, you’ll have a built-in market to target.

Learn about all this and more in the article I wrote for the International Living Magazine. If you want instant access to the current issue, plus my Cuba article…plus instant access to every premium article we've published during the past 100 months…you can now subscribe to the IL Magazine for just $17.