More visitors flocking to Cuba in the post-sanctions era threatens the Caribbean island’s infrastructure just as it also risks losing subsidized oil from Venezuela. An agreement with the new French Development Agency in Cuba will help to renovate the Jose Marti airport in Havana. Concessions, announced on Wednesday, will be given to Aeroports de Paris, the French government-controlled firm that runs Paris’ airports. Tourism is a priority development area for Cuba; visitors bring in cash needed as the country faces sharp reductions in subsidized oil from their Latin American ally. Tourism Minister, Manuel Marrero, explained that visitor numbers are running 12 percent ahead of last year and expects the island to receive 3.8 million tourists this year – making the airport renovation a critical infrastructure project. The updates will allow the airport to receive hundreds of thousands” more tourists a year and bolster the national income, just as crude oil imports become more expensive.
