While Caribbean governments are pondering on the possible effects that potential growth in Cuban tourism could have on the region's industry, the Cayman Islands says it's prepared.

The United States, which is only 90 miles north of Cuba, has banned its citizens from visiting the island due to its communist regime headed by Fidel Castro.

As its 80-year-old leader recuperates from surgery, the opening up of the island to the lucrative US market has again been a hot topic of debate through the Caribbean.

Given the US plan to make Cuba more readily accessible to its exiles and American visitors, an estimated three millions tourists are expected to flock to the island per year.

That's if the embargo of almost 50 years is lifted by the US, which has tried to unseat Castro on many occasions.

At the moment, Cuba plays hosts to about 50,000 guests per year and accounts for only one percent of tourists to the Caribbean.

The possibility of Cuba competing strongly with the Caribbean for market share has led the Caymanian authorities to enter into discussions with Cuba over a multi-destination package.

Minister of Tourism Hon Charles Clifford told a recent Media Briefing that plans were being put in place to capture some of the business spilled off from the new Cuba, whenever that happens.

Cayman Airways, the National Flag Carrier, has been in constant talks with Havana as it tries to position itself as major airline on that route.

Even Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush sensed that the Cayman Islands would gain more than lose from the freeing up of the Cuban market, saying that there is nothing to worry about.

But the optimism is not at the same high point in the rest of the Caribbean, taking into account Cuba's colorful history, rich culture and under-explored tourism product.

Regional officials are worried that a lifting of US travel restrictions to Cuba might divert American vacationers away from their destinations, hurting the fragile economies.

An economist at the International Monetary Fund, Rafael Romeu, presented a study at the recent conference of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy in Miami.

He stressed that the views are his own and not those of the Washington-based International Monetary Fund.

The new study stated that Cuba's hotels would not be able to handle US demand and some European and Canadian travelers who will visit Cuba.

Many of these visitors would be displaced to neighboring nations, giving those areas like the Cayman Islands and Jamaica a boost at least for the short-term, the study said.

Romeu said less than one percent of US travelers to the Caribbean now visit Cuba, hamstrung by Washington's restrictions.

That compares with 34 percent of Canadians visitors to the Caribbean who now travel to Cuba, the most populous island nation in the region.

Spanish-speaking Cuba is also known for inexpensive package deals to beach resorts in Varadero.

If the US embargo were lifted, Romeu believes the number of Americans visiting Cuba should top three million a year, up from roughly 50,000 a year now.

Currently, Cuba has a hotel inventory of 50,000 rooms, which means that a huge flood of visitors would overwhelm the island.

Cayman, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Cancun in Mexico and other countries would likely snap up the spill over.

Romeu told the Miami conference that the neighboring countries should get prepared for what's to come.

"What determines growth [in other Caribbean sites] is who has the capacity to accept these folks," he said.

Cancun and the Dominican Republic have among the region's largest hotel inventories, according to tourism experts.

Over time, Cuba's neighbors may gain less, however. Cuba likely would increase its hotel room count mid-term, he said.

The fallout carries weight because the Caribbean ranks as the world's most tourism-dependent region.

Tourism is the backbone of most Caribbean countries, which will be keeping a keen eye on what's happening in Cuba, especially with the health of its President Fidel Castro who has told his countrymen prepare for life after him.