The Hershey sugar mill in Cuba: from global industrial heritage to local sustainable tourism development

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-26-2017

Publication Title

Journal of Heritage Tourism

Volume

13

Issue

5

First page number:

426

Last page number:

439

Abstract

Although now abandoned, the Hershey sugar mill represents much of Cuba’s history, heritage, culture, and economy. The associated company town, nature gardens, and electric rail line remain in use to date, albeit in deteriorating condition. This paper presents the history of Hershey investment and significance in Cuba, the current state of the site, and the results of an evaluation of the potential for developing the Hershey complex as a sustainable tourism destination and source of local employment. The study concludes that conservation of the site is a cultural imperative for Cuba, but with many obstacles and challenges. Incremental steps toward development may be feasible – particularly with growing potential for open tourism from the US. © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Disciplines

Tourism and Travel

Language

english

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