Originally a centre for the production of cigars, Tampa really suffered because of the embargo the US government placed on importing goods from Cuba in the 1950s and went through a painful period of decline.
It was the establishment of Ybor City, (The Cuban area of the city) as a national monument in the 1980s that stopped the rot, and when Busch Gardens began to develop and tourists began twinning the thrills of Disneyworld in Orlando with a week on the beach in Clearwater or St Petersburg, Tampa became one of the top holiday spots in the country.
