Capitalist Measures Within a Socialist Model: A Commodity Chains Analysis of the Emerging Cuban Tourism Industry (Report‪)‬

Introduction At the beginning of the 21st century, tourism was one of the largest and fastest growing global industries (Tisdell 2001; Schwartz 1997). It has been one of the largest employer and export sectors in the world (Tisdell 2001). Over the past few decades tourism has become a critical source of income and a key development strategy for many lesser developed countries (LDCs). In addition to offering employment opportunities, it serves as a means of economic diversification and foreign exchange, draws investment capital, and can promote other forms of development by fostering backward and forward linkages to tourism sectors of the economy. In 2001 tourism was the principal export earner for 83% of developing countries (Roe, Ashley, Page, and Meyer 2004). According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, "tourism is the only large sector of international trade in services where poor countries have consistently posted a surplus" (World Trade Organization 1997).