CUBA'S HOTEL CUBE

By: Marvin

LUXURY SITES seek to lure  U.S. tourists, but more than some obstacles still persist to really get the tourist business going.

In Havana's .Parque Central, shady stone benches and graceful palm trees beckon to  mojito-sipping tourists and locals gathering to shoot the breeze.

The gathering spot, in the center of the town, is surrounded by horse-drawn carriages and long lines of  colorful  finned-and-chromed  1950s cars.

But more utilitarian vehicles have recently begun circling the square : construction equipment  transforming old buildings into luxury hotels.

As Cuba's relationship with the  United States grows more natural and warmer, real estate redevelopment is heating up, too.

''So many old buildings sat vacant for years with signs saying they were very soon to be converted into hotels,'' said Belmont Freeman, a Cuban-American architect based in New York.

''Now I actually see the cranes on construction sites, Cuban bureaucracy is also easing up,  and foreign hotel developers are finally finding ways to move their projects forward.''

The World Students Society wishes the Students, Professors and teachers of Cuba, very well and hopes to welcome them on !WOW!.