Paper short abstract:

The aim of this paper is to explore through comparison of two community projects that utilise tourism as a resource for improving local economy explore different facets of tourism and the ways it impacts communities.

Paper long abstract:

The aim of this paper is to explore through comparison of two community projects that utilise tourism as a resource for improving local economy explore different facets of tourism and the ways it impacts communities.

Recent years brought a considerable increase in the presence of community projects in the socialist Cuba. It is important to underline they exist in a different institutional context, in a country where NGO's do not exist and thus any community project needs to be sustainable itself while aiming to bring sustainability for local communities.

First of the studies will be focused on a project dedicated to the marginalised community of illegal internal migrants living far from the touristic centre of Havana. Its coordinators on the one hand intend to integrate the community, on the other attract mostly academic tourism through capitalising on the overlooked, yet rich heritage of the district, as well as cultural and religious diversity of its inhabitants.

The second case study will focus on Callejón de Hamel, a renowned tourist destination in the centre of Havana, a community project that started as a place to cultivate the customs and religions of the Afro-Cuban community. Throughout the years however, it has become criticised for its commercialisation of Santeria religion and transforming it into a tourist attraction with little presence of the community itself.

The paper is based on long-term ethnographic fieldwork in Havana.