Florida could benefit from Cuba change

With Barack Obama in the White House and Fidel Castro getting older and more ill, it seems relations between the US and Cuba are getting warmer.
A report in the South Florida Business Journal says that with frosty relations getting warmer, Florida could be one of the main beneficiaries from open trade between us and them.
It says: In the immediate term, there’s wide agreement that Obama will lift Bush-era restrictions on travel and cash remittances, as promised during the campaign. The biggest impact in the tri-county area will be on the agencies that service the area’s many Cuban-American travelers, said Uva de Aragón, associate director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University (FIU).
Obama has promised unlimited travel for Cuban-Americans visiting family on the island, but, under the rules imposed by Bush, “you can travel only every three years, no matter what,” de Aragón explained. This has resulted in lots of illegal travel through third countries and a siphoning of business away from South Florida, she noted.
...Given normalization, South Florida’s larger travel industry would benefit, too, said Dario Moreno, an FIU professor who studies Cuban-American politics. He envisioned full ships owned by South Florida-based cruise lines leaving local ports and heading across the straits. That scenario would also mean a boost for local hotels, restaurants and airports servicing the additional cruise passengers.
So, while it is unclear quite how long it will be before relations return to normal with Cuba under Obama, we can all look forward to a brighter future it seems.

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