Keys tourism bureau has slogans ready for post-embargo Cuba

Keys tourism bureau has slogans ready for post-embargo Cuba
BY DOUGLAS HANKS DHANKS@MIAMIHERALD.COM
12/24/2014 4:22 PM 12/24/2014 8:28 PM

How prepared is Key West for the end of the tourism embargo on Cuba? The
Conch Republic already has a slogan ready: "Two Nations. One Vacation."

The Keys tourism bureau updated its Cuba plan in early 2014, and the
60-page document centers on persuading travelers to make Key West part
of their Cuban vacations. President Obama's announcement of looser
travel rules for Cuba dpes not change the prohibition on leisure travel
to the island, so for now the plan remains a contingency.

"The whole purpose of the plan was really to be prepared for when Cuba
opens up to tourism. I personally don't see that happening at this
time," said Harold Wheeler, head of the Monroe County Tourist
Development Council, which serves as the Keys tourism bureau. "The idea
of the plan is to be ready on short notice."

Wheeler worries that if the U.S. drops all travel rules for Cuba, the
flood of travelers to the island will cut into the Keys' own share of
the vacation market. The plan explores how to divert some interest in
Cuba to the Keys, by pairing attractions in Key West with their
counterparts 90 miles away.

Among the ideas: package tours of historic homes in Havana and Key West.
The slogan: "We're making history again." Ernest Hemingway fished the
waters off both islands. The Keys plan anticipates sponsoring a fishing
tournament in between the two islands, advertising it with the tag line:
"So much to catch up on." All of it would fall under the slogan of "Two
Nations. One Vacation" or its leaner alternative "Two Nation Vacation."

"We don't want people flying over us here to get there," Wheeler said.

Source: Keys tourism bureau has slogans ready for post-embargo Cuba |
The Miami Herald -
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article4931118.html