Every winter, tourists from frozen homelands in Canada and Europe fill the sunny streets of Old Havana admiring its picturesque cathedral, colonial buildings and centuries-old squares.

Now, as a result of the historic rapprochement between Cuba and the United States that took place in December, it is expected that the US government will allow more Americans to travel to the island even though the overall travel ban can only be lifted by Congress.

Tour operators hope a fledgling detente between Cuba and the United States will lure hundreds of thousands of US tourists to enjoy the island's once forbidden fruits: its white beaches, colonial cities, fine cigars and rum, and the vintage American cars on its streets.

Collin Laverty, president of Cuba Educational Tours, hopes that tourist infrastructure and services will improve to welcome the increase in US visitors.

"So, really at this moment there are 3, 4, 5 really nice hotels in Havana that you can count on for a quality experience and I think that needs to increase five, sixfold. You have capacity issues at the airport with everything from luggage getting off flights to the customs process. So, those are all challenges. I do think the Cuban government and the Cuban people are excited about it. They see it as a challenge and they seem to be ready for it and so I think we'll see strides on this side to prepare for that," he said.

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