Tampa firm promotes ‘José Martí Trail’ as tourist destination

TAMPA — The Tampa area already struggles against Orlando, the top tourist destination in the world, to gain a share of the visitors who come to spend money in Florida.

Soon, Orlando will begin competing for one of the attractions that makes Tampa unique in Central Florida — regular flights to and from Havana. They begin this summer, flying each Wednesday.

But a Tampa public relations firm is working on giving this region an edge, at least with its Cuba connection: The “José Martí Trail,“ a tour of spots in Tampa linked to the man whose role in winning independence from Spain earned him the nickname “The George Washington of Cuba.”

Martí will never be Mickey Mouse or the Miami nightlife when it comes to drawing tourists, but he has a following. And recent political developments may enable Tampa to cash in on it.

Growing normalization of relations with the Communist nation includes an easing of the travel ban.

Trips between the countries for purely tourism reasons still are prohibited. But people in the U.S. can visit Cuba now, so long as they fit one of 12 categories of travel — including cultural-education programs.

TuckerHall, an international public relations firm headquartered in downtown Tampa, hopes travel services that already put together educational trips to Cuba will add Tampa to their itineraries, featuring the pivotal role the city played in launching the revolution Martí inspired.

“You cannot fully learn about José Martí and the war of independence without learning about Tampa,” said Bill Carlson, president of TuckerHall. “So why not visit both?”