Cuba May Permit Euro Beyond Tourist Spots

Associated Press

Communist officials are thinking about extending the use
of the euro beyond a few resorts for vacationing Europeans as the country
moves to halt widespread use of the American dollar, Cuba's tourism minister
said on Wednesday.

Since Fidel Castro's Government decided to replace the US
dollar with the local Cuban convertible peso, authorities "have been
studying coordinating with Cuba's Central Bank to extend the acceptance of
the euro in other areas of the country," Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero
said.The euro currently is accepted at several coastal resorts
on this Caribbean island, including Varadero beach, east of Havana, and
Jardines del Rey, located in a string of keys along the main island's
northern central coast.

The European currency is also accepted at hotels,
restaurants, shops and other businesses in the eastern beach resorts of
Santa Lucia, Covarrubias and Holguin, and Cayo Largo del Sur, off the main
island's southwestern coast.

Cuba, which hopes to receive two million visitors this
year, is a popular vacation spot for Europeans.

Extending the use of the euro outside those tourism areas
could make Cuba a more attractive destination for Europeans, who would no
longer have to change the European Union's common currency into US dollars
for use on the island.

Increasing acceptance of the euro would also help Cuba
start building a new hard currency base as it removes the US currency from
general circulation.

President Fidel Castro announced on Monday night that his
government was launching a two-week process Tuesday to eliminate the US
currency from circulation in its stores and businesses in response to
stepped-up American sanctions.

"It is recommended that after that date that visitors to
the country don't carry United States dollars," Marrero said. Instead, they
should bring euros, Canadian dollars, British sterling pounds or Swiss
francs, he added.

Once in Cuba, tourists can exchange those foreign
currencies for the Cuban convertible currency _ unless they are already in
an area where the euro is freely accepted at businesses. Marrero said about
75 per cent of visitors to Cuba come from countries where the US dollar is
not commonly used.

Tourism is one of Cuba's most important economic sectors,
bringing in around $2 billion.