Ecotour Cuba

MSNBC reports on Cuba's efforts to lure ecotourists.

Cuba is betting environmentally conscious vacationers, who are often willing to pay premium prices and stay longer than those hankering for cheap beach getaways, can boost profits. Eco-tourists focus not only on nature — biking, hiking, bird-watching, scuba-diving — but also on the country's social and cultural charms, while trying to make as little negative impact as possible on nature.

A key attraction will be the national park near the Bay of Pigs — the Cienaga de Zapata [picture above], or Zapata Swamp. Cuba's equivalent of the Florida Everglades, it's the Caribbean's largest bioreserve, 1.5 million acres of mangrove-choked canals teeming with the wildest Cuban wildlife.

Read the full story: Cuba works to become ecotourism destination

Photo from flickr by Manolo Marrero