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Cuba hopes if it builds new hotels, tourists will come, after a long covid shutdown.

Carrie Kahn

The Grand Aston la Habana, overlooking the Malecón and the sea, is the latest luxury hotel to open as part of the Cuban government's aggressive tourism building project. Carrie Kahn/NPR hide caption

The Grand Aston la Habana, overlooking the Malecón and the sea, is the latest luxury hotel to open as part of the Cuban government's aggressive tourism building project.

HAVANA, Cuba — Cuba is hoping more tourists return to the island, after a lengthy shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tourism is vital to the communist country's economy, which has taken a beating from not only the pandemic, but also tough sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.

The war in Ukraine has also had an impact, as Western governments gradually closed the airspace to Russia. That makes travel for Russians — one of Cuba's top tourist groups — difficult and very expensive.

Last week, the Biden administration rolled back some restrictions on Cuba travel. But it's unclear if U.S. visitors will return.

Michel Cleray is with a small group of fellow French tourists visiting the island. He says they're enjoying the sights, especially the long line of classic cars along the grand Paseo del Prado boulevard in Old Havana.

For the local taxi drivers, though, it's been a dismal day. Eduardo Cedeño, a 36-year-old driver, says he hasn't had a single rider in his shiny red 1956 Buick convertible. "It is the low season for sure, but even the cooler winter months weren't so great," he says.

The iconic Malecón stretches along Havana's shoreline, with waves often crashing over it. The promenade, usually bustling with visitors and residents, awaits the return of more tourists. Carrie Kahn/NPR hide caption

The iconic Malecón stretches along Havana's shoreline, with waves often crashing over it. The promenade, usually bustling with visitors and residents, awaits the return of more tourists.

There is a trickle of tourists heading back to Havana , but nothing like the more than 4 million a year before the pandemic. Analysts say Cuba missed out on a recuperating Caribbean market by waiting until late November to reopen its border and drop strict coronavirus requirements.

Pilar Álvarez Azze, from the Tourism Ministry, tells NPR that officials are optimistic travelers will return to the island. She says the ministry is hoping to lure at least 2.5 million visitors this year. Fewer than half a million have come so far this year though. In addition to Russians, Canadians, U.S. citizens and Europeans are the leading visitors.

For many ordinary citizens in this state-controlled economy, the tourism is the main way to make money — whether by lodging foreign guests in their homes or staffing hotels and other businesses catering to international visitors.

Experiencing one of its worst economic crises in decades, Cuba needs the cash. It can't buy essential imports, including most food and fuel oil, without foreign currency. Inflation has skyrocketed and Cubans spend hours every day waiting in lines for food and gas.

Yet the government continued its aggressive hotel building spree even through the pandemic. A stroll along the Malecón seaside promenade takes you past one recently opened luxury hotel, the Grand Aston la Habana. It is stunning, with two tall white towers and hundreds of rooms looking out onto the ocean. There's just one problem. It's practically empty.

Classic 1950s-era cars sit idling on Havana's Paseo del Prado. On a recent day, driver Eduardo Cedeño said he hadn't had a single rider in his shiny red 1956 Buick convertible. Carrie Kahn/NPR hide caption

Álvarez defends the controversial construction as necessary for Cuba's long-term well-being. "We keep on building the future, and the future is for our people," she says.

Not all of the Grand Aston's neighbors would agree. "That's where the princes live," says 52-year-old Elias Despine Rodríguez, pointing at the hotel. "Here's where the beggars reside," he says, pointing to his crumbling apartment across the street. "We thought that when they built the hotel, they'd fix our building too, but they didn't." Growing inequality has spurred resentment and sparked rare protests that erupted last July .

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Despine stands next to his 1947 classic Harley Davidson motorcycle with a for sale sign on it. He can't even afford the gas for it. He says he can't find work and has given up hope that even if tourists do come back, the economy would improve for him.

So, like large numbers of Cubans today, he's trying to get enough cash to leave.

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• Focus on Cuba and the Caribbean

Tourism Development for the Cuban Economy

by Orlando Gutierrez Castillo and Nélida Gancedo Gaspar | Dec 18, 2002

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Cienfuegos Botanical Garden. Photo by Andrew Klein.

The post-war boom, as well as the modernization of transportation and communications, has led to rapid growth of the tourist sector, particularly in countries in the process of development.

Because of the general tourism boom, not to mention the critical situation spawned by the collapse of socialism in Eastern Europe, Cuba began in the 1990s to adopt tourism as one of the basic pillars in the redefinition of its economic strategy. As a sunny Caribbean island, Cuba had flourished as a tourist destination, although it was accompanied by serious social distortions such as gambling, prostitution, and other vices. Following the Cuban revolution in 1959, however, tourism practically disappeared from the island. Part of the reason, of course, was that the United States market dried up as a result of the U.S. embargo. But more significantly, Cuba’s strategy for economic and social development didn’t consider tourist activity as key to the future of the island.

Tourism eventually became more important because it represented a significant group of investments that could generate hard currency. The 1997 Cuban Economic Resolution spells out the necessity to develop hard currency-earning sectors of the economy to finance other important activities, making explicit the role tourism could play in the country’s economic future. To achieve this, it set a goal: to attract more than two million tourists to the country by the year 2000 and earn more than $2,600 million from the tourist trade.

Thus, tourism, in ten years of sustained development, has been converted into the most dynamic sector of the Cuban economy. One-fourth of the investments in Cuba have been made in tourism. It has contributed an impressive 43% to the balance of payments at the end of the decade, more than any other industry. In a mere decade, tourism has gone from being an incidental source of income to becoming a structural factor in the Cuban economy. Few times in international history has such a dynamic structural transformation occurred. Ten years ago, the sugar industry provided between 70 and 75% of the income of the balance of payments, while the tourist sector accounted for only 6%. Cuban Tourism Minister Ibrahim Ferradaz observed that “in the last ten years, the sector multiplied its gross income eight-fold; the number of visitors multiplied by five, the number of rooms in tourist establishments tripled, and the number of jobs in the tourist sector doubled.”

This achievement can be attributed to the design and implementation of a strategy for sector development, aiming to consolidate the “structural competitivity” of tourism through the use of Cuba’s existing social and cultural assets, as well as the creation of long-term sustainable competitive advantages.

It is said that when Christopher Columbus arrived at the northeast coast of Cuba on October 27, 1492, startled by the island’s beauty, he exclaimed, “This is the most beautiful land human eyes have ever seen!” And he became de facto the first tour operator on the island. Undoubtedly, Cuba is an obvious site for tourism, with its picturesque beaches, underwater beauty, countryside landscapes, and ecological reserves (many yet to be explored). Its climate complements its easy air and sea access, as well as its important historical and cultural patrimony. An educated population and improved infrastructure of roads and communications add to the mix.

The Cuban government’s economic policy and support mechanisms have complemented these advantages. In the Caribbean region, Cuba is now the second most popular tourist destination.

PILLARS OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

In the context of an economic crisis, decisive Cuban government policy “bet on” tourism. Between 1990 and 1999, more than $3.5 billion were invested in the tourist industry. The number of rooms available to international tourists grew from 12,000 to 35,000. Significant resources were also devoted to infrastructure such as airports, causeways connecting the keys, and other tourist facilities. The shift from an emphasis on goods and productivity to that of services has made tourism the “locomotive” of the Cuban economy.

Tourism is not only important in and of itself. It serves to stimulate other sectors of the economy. The real challenge is how tourism can contribute to the development and consolidation of sectors of the domestic economy that aren’t truly competitive without losing “structural competitivity”. However, the utilization of tourist demand has been sustained in a basic principle: to not force any tourist entity to buy national products, especially if those products are not considered internationally competitive. In this sense, the government does not provide support to national products in the context of the tourist industry.

Sectors related to the tourism sector operate in an environment of competition. In 1990, only 18% of the sector’s purchases were domestic; by the end of 2000, the amount increased to 61%. As a result of the incorporation of several sectors of the economy into the tourist “locomotive,” 198,000 jobs were created or recovered.

The insufficiency of financial resources, the lack of channels of access to markets, as well as the lack of experience in tourist operations, also led to the necessity of developing a group of alliances of various types with foreign entities. In slightly more than ten years, 26 mixed enterprises have been created in the tourism sector. Moreover, by the end of the year 2000, half of the country’s hotel capacity was administered by 17 international hotel chains.

Foreign companies have become increasingly interested in investing in the Cuban tourism sector, especially after the creation of a Ministry of Tourism in 1994, coupled with the approval of a 1995 law that spelled out the rules for foreign investments. Francisco Camps, an executive with the Sol Melía hotel chain, considered the largest operational foreign partner with 20 hotels on the island, declared recently in a published interview that Cuba “has a lot of future in this field, and we enjoy these types of challenges.”

The policy of education and development of human resources is another pillar of the strategy of tourism development in Cuba. Cuba’s work force is well-educated, thus creating conditions to carry out efficient work in any field. The Cuban tourist system already has several educational centers to develop workers for this sector. In 1994, all these centers were consolidated into a network known as FORMATUR, today made up of 22 teaching centers throughout the country, from which 16,000 workers graduate annually in diverse fields of concentration.

CHALLENGES FOR THE SECTOR’S DEVELOPMENT

The Cuban tourist sector has been set up to offer year-round attractions to guarantee a steady flow of visitors, as well as repeat visits. Diversity is the key to accomplishing this goal.

Diversifying what Cuban tourism offers is to take full advantage of its diverse geography, and social, economic, and cultural possibilities, to reach all segments of the market and the largest numbers of markets. This prevents demand from vacillating widely from season to season. Severe tourist ebb and flow would endanger macro-economic stability. Tourism in Cuba is a balancing act: to find an equilibrium in seasonal flows, geographic destinations, and tourist origins.

In spite of Cuba’s favorable, tropical climate, statistics show that Cuba suffers from a certain degree of tourist seasonal peaks and declines. A significant dependence on the European and Canadian markets with preferences for escaping the harsh winters, as well as excessive summer heat and fears about the hurricane season, contribute to this pattern. The existence of high and low seasons keep the sector from operating efficiently. Vice-president Lage has referred to this problem, pointing out that it increases the costs of operation and reduces profits.

This seasonality has been caused, in part, by the image of Cuba as a land of sun and beaches, instead of as a diversified country with many natural and cultural attractions. History, architecture, music, film, and art are just a few of the areas that can provide added value for the development of a more integrated, sustainable, and sophisticated assortment of tourist offerings.

Health tourism is another significant option because the recognized international prestige of Cuban medical science gives it a comparative advantage. The Servimed Company, part of the Cubanacán Corporation Group, S.A., works closely with five hotels, 23 hospitals, 11 international clinics, and a variety of pharmacies and optical stores. Health tourism accounts for two percent of tourism, and although this area does not anticipate spectacular growth in the next few years, a wide range of possibilities in the health arena could add significant value to tourism offerings. Education and sports are also important areas of development for specialized tourism, as is eco-tourism.

One of the weaknesses of Cuban tourism is its high concentration in two poles, Havana and Varadero Beach, which together generate 70% of tourist revenue. Cuba’s tourist strategy seeks a better balance throughout the island. However, extending the geographical scope of tourism should not result in the indiscriminate investment in tourist activities without prioritizing.

Eight main regions all over the island have been identified as so-called tourist poles, and $700 million has been invested to date in regional infrastructure. The policy of territorial diversification has been sustained to avoid the uncontrolled dispersion of resources.

The process of expansion and development of the Cuban tourism industry within the context of the island’s economy faces yet another series of challenges. The elevation of economic efficiency is one of them. In spite of the significant reduction of losses compared to the past, a group of tourist entities generated losses of $35 million. In this sense, several leaders of the sector have proposed cost-cutting measures without affecting service quality; the elevation of the efficiency of the investment process is one of the focal points in this process.

Another important challenge is to balance hotel investments and those related to developing other tourist facilities. During the 90s, the construction of hotel rooms accounted for 73% of investments. By the end of 1999, 60 hotels had been built, giving Cuba the second largest hotel capacity in the Caribbean. The remaining 27% was earmarked for infrastructure (11.3% for airports, and 5.6 % for a series of causeways) in the Coconut Key region, leaving other tourist-related investments such as restoration and recreation with only 13.8%. This imbalance has generated an unbalanced loss of diversity in tourist attractions.

The challenge for the Cuban tourist industry is to slow down the ever-increasing investment in hotel capacity and to speed up investments in non-hotel facilities and infrastructure. In spite of the low investment in these areas, non-hotel tourist amenities generate 18% of industry income. This shift presupposes a change in mentality regarding the conception of the tourist business. At the outset, it was more important to attract the greatest quantity of tourists possible through all-inclusive package deals, but right now it’s necessary to rethink Cuba’s tourist “product.” It’s time to decide whether it’s worthwhile to keep growing hotel capacity in an excessive form or to develop additional tourist offerings through the development of a tourist infrastructure beyond hotel chains.

Finally, the development of tourism on islands like Cuba depends on the high quality of air transportation. The Caribbean’s regional air hub is generally Miami, which isn’t a possibility for Cuba because of the economic boycott by the United States government. Thus, Cuba has to reframe its air traffic capacity to meet the needs of the tourist industry.

THE CUBAN EXPERIENCE

The Cuban tourist sector now faces the challenge of increasing its competitive capacity and taking advantage of important opportunities and resources. Weaknesses associated with both objective and subjective factors have to be worked out through a coherent strategy that adequately uses the human capital in Cuba as its principal economic resource.

After discussing the tactical adjustments that the country would need to adopt to confront the current depression caused by worldwide recession and the impact of September 11, Tourism Minister Ferradaz stressed that “the situation would not affect the important construction already underway.” He confirmed that tourism would continue to be a key sector of the Cuban economy. Cuba is not going to offer just any type of tourism to bring in hard currency; guidelines have been established about the kind of tourism that Cuba wishes to develop as a destination. President Fidel Castro himself has declared, “Sex tourism will never be permitted, nor drugs nor anything of that sort. This is not gambling tourism; it is healthy tourism, and that is what we want; it is what we promote, because we know that today tourists are worried about their safety and we have the conditions to offer them that security. We have a hospitable people, a high and growing level of education, that is, we have the conditions to offer these tourist services and at the same time, to cooperate with other Caribbean islands.”

Cuba is not looking at tourism as some sort of short-term solution that exploits people’s curiosity about the island. Nor does it see tourism as “a necessary evil” in the heart of a socialist society, explanations sometimes given by those confused about the impressive dynamism of the Cuban tourist sector. Tourism in Cuba is a strategic development associated with creating a new concept of sustainable tourism from the vantage point of its ecological, economic, and social dimensions.

Cuba: Una Década de Desarrollo Turístico

Por Orlando Gutiérrez Castillo y Nélida Gancedo Gaspar 

El desarrollo económico alcanzado en el siglo XX se ha caracterizado por el crecimiento del sector terciario de la economí­a. Especialmente, a partir de los años cincuenta, el turismo ha contribuido de manera importante a ello. Favorecido por el florecimiento económico postbélico, la modernización de los medios de transporte y de las comunicaciones en general, el sector turístico ha pasado a ser uno de los de mayor crecimiento en gran cantidad de países, en particular, en ví­as de desarrollo.

El turismo ha experimentado una constante expansión en la economía mundial con tasas de crecimiento promedio anuales de 4.5 por ciento durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Esto ha conducido a que, en la actualidad, ocupe el primer puesto entre los grupos de exportación mundiales, por delante de partidas tradicionales tan importantes como el petróleo y la industria automovilí­stica, así­ como otras no tan tradicionales como la electrónica. En 1996, los ingresos procedentes de este sector representaron el 8% del total de exportaciones mundiales y más del 35% de las exportaciones de servicios. También es generalmente aceptado el hecho de que, a pesar de las turbulencias del presente, el turismo será el sector de mayor crecimiento a nivel mundial en las dos primeras décadas del siglo XXI.

Ante estas realidades, y teniendo en cuenta la crí­tica situacón creada a partir del derrumbe del socialismo en Europa del Este, Cuba asume el turismo internacional como uno de los ejes básicos en la redefinición de su estrategia económica a partir de los años 90. Cabe destacar, en este sentido, que a partir del triunfo revolucionario de 1959, esta actividad- que habí­a alcanzado un importante desarrollo, aunque con serias distorsiones sociales, al concebirse en un marco de juego, vicio y prostitución- prácticamente desaparece debido, en parte, a la pérdida del principal mercado emisor como resultado de las restricciones impuestas por el bloqueo norteamericano y, por otra parte, porque en lo sucesivo la estrategia de desarrollo económico y social no concebí­a a esta actividad como clave en el futuro del paí­s.

La necesidad de concentrar un grupo importante de inversiones en actividades generadoras de ingresos en moneda libremente convertible en el corto plazo se refleja en la Resolución Económica aprobada por el V Congreso del PCC en 1997. En ella se plantea que los principales sectores que generan divisas deben garantizar crecientes aportes netos al país para posibilitar el financiamiento de otras importantes actividades. También se declara explí­citamente el papel que debe jugar el turismo en el futuro económico del paí­s, destacando su misión como captador de divisas frescas y definiendo metas concretas a alcanzar para el año 2000: lograr el arribo de más de dos millones de turistas y obtener más de 2 600 millones de dólares de ingresos.

Así­, el turismo, en el transcurso de diez años de desarrollo sostenido, se ha convertido en el sector más dinámico de la economí­a cubana. En él se ha concentrado una cuarta parte de las inversiones efectuadas en el paí­s y, como resultado, ocupa el primer lugar en cuanto a aportes de ingresos corrientes a la Balanza de Pagos, cerrando la década con un impresionante 43 por ciento de participación.

En el lapso de un decenio, el turismo ha dejado de ser una actividad coyuntural para convertirse en un factor estructural de la economí­a cubana. Pocas veces en la historia económica internacional se ha producido un tipo de transformación estructural tan dinámica. Diez años atrás, entre el 70 y el 75 por ciento de los ingresos a la Balanza de Pagos provení­a del sector azucarero, mientras que el turismo apenas aportaba un 6 por ciento. Ibrahim Ferradaz, ministro cubano del Turismo, al referirse a los principales rasgos de esta transformación señala que “en los últimos diez años, el sector multiplicó por ocho los ingresos brutos, quintuplicó el número de visitantes, triplicó el número de habitaciones en instalaciones turí­sticas y duplicó los puestos de trabajo”.

El logro de los resultados obedece al diseño e implementación de una estrategia de desarrollo del sector. Esta se ha orientado a consolidar la competitividad estructural del turismo mediante la utilización de factores naturales, sociales y culturales heredados, así­ como la elaboración y ejecución de polí­ticas gubernamentales tendientes a la creación de ventajas competitivas sostenibles en el largo plazo.

Cuentan que el 27 de octubre de 1492 el almirante Cristóbal Colón arribó a Cuba por la costa nororiental del paí­s y que, vislumbrado por su belleza, exclamó: “¡Esta es la tierra más hermosa que ojos humanos han visto!”. Y se convirtió, de hecho, en el primer turoperador de la Isla. Indiscutiblemente, Cuba, como destino turí­stico, cuenta con una serie de atributos heredados que representan un importante punto de partida para el desarrollo turí­stico. Sus bellezas naturales (playas, atractivos submarinos, paisajes campestres y de montaña, reservas ecológicas, todos aún muy por debajo de su capacidad sustentable de explotación), así­ como su clima son sólo una parte de ellas, que se complementan con su ubicación y fácil acceso por ví­a aérea y marí­tima, además de su importante patrimonio histórico y cultural.

Importantes elementos se han incorporado a este caudal de atractivos del paí­s en los últimos cuarenta años de Revolución: población educada, culta y solidaria, altos í­ndices de salud a niveles de paí­ses del primer mundo, reconocido prestigio como potencia deportiva, clima social seguro y voluntad de conservación del medio ambiente. Asimismo, la infraestructura creada en carreteras, aeropuertos, redes eléctricas y de comunicaciones incorporan otro grupo de atractivos que potencian producto turí­stico cubano.

Este grupo de indiscutibles ventajas heredadas ha sido complementado con elementos de polí­tica económica y mecanismos de apoyo gubernamental. Ello ha posibilitado explotar estas ventajas y consolidar un posicionamiento del sector en el mercado internacional, especialmente dentro de la región del Caribe, donde ya ocupa la segunda plaza receptora de turistas.

PILARES DE LA ESTRATEGIA DE DESARROLLO TURISTICO

La polí­tica gubernamental de definir sectores clave y situar al turismo como una prioridad en cuanto a inversiones ha jugado un papel decisivo en este sentido. En un contexto de crisis económica, Cuba “apostó” al turismo. Entre 1990 y 1999 se invirtieron más de 3 500 millones de dólares en el sector, pasándose de 12 mil habitaciones destinadas al turismo internacional a más de 35 mil. También se destinaron importantes recursos a obras de infraestructura de apoyo como aeropuertos, pedraplenes para el acceso a cayos de interés turí­stico y otras facilidades. De esta forma, se adoptan importantes decisiones en materia de estructura económica, lográndose una transformación de la misma de una esencialmente material-productiva a una de servicios, al consolidarse el turismo como “locomotora” de la economí­a cubana.

Por otra parte, una vez definido como sector clave de la economí­a, al turismo se le asignó un papel más importante en la reanimación del resto de los sectores. Esto constituyó -y aún constituye- un verdadero reto: cómo contribuir al desarrollo y consolidación de sectores económicos internos poco competitivos sin perder su propia competitividad estructural. Sin embargo, la utilización del factor demanda turí­stica se ha sustentado en un principio básico: no se fuerza a ninguna entidad turí­stica a comprar productos nacionales a menos que no sean considerados competitivos. No se garantiza protección gubernamental a los productores nacionales en sus ví­nculos con las organizaciones empresariales del turismo.

Todo ello ha generado un ambiente competitivo alrededor del sector, el cual ha mostrado importantes avances. Si en 1990 sólo el 18 por ciento de las compras del sector eran de procedencia nacional, al cierre del 2000 esta proporción ascendí­a a un 61 por ciento. A partir de la incorporación de diversos sectores económicos a la dinámica del turismo se han logrado recuperar o crear unos 198 mil puestos de trabajo.

El desarrollo y expansión del sector ha tomado en consideración la amplia participación de factores externos. La insuficiencia de recursos financieros, la carencia de canales de acceso a los mercados, así­ como la falta de experiencia en el manejo de operaciones dentro del sector condujeron a la necesidad de desarrollar un grupo de alianzas de diferente í­ndole con entidades extranjeras. A más de una década, se han creado 26 empresas mixtas en el sector. Además, al cierre del 2000 la mitad de la planta hotelera del paí­s se encontraba administrada por 17 cadenas hoteleras internacionales bajo la modalidad de contratos de administración.

El interés de empresas extranjeras por invertir en el sector turí­stico cubano ha ido en ascenso, sobre todo después de la creación del Ministerio del Turismo en 1994 y de la aprobación de la Ley No.77 de 1995 para la Inversión Extranjera. Francisco Camps, ejecutivo del grupo hotelero Sol Meliá, considerado el mayor socio extranjero en el sector con operaciones en 20 hoteles en el archipiélago cubano, destacó en una entrevista reciente que Cuba “tiene mucho futuro en este campo y nos gusta este tipo de retos”.

La polí­tica de formación y desarrollo de los recursos humanos constituye otro pilar de la estrategia de desarrollo turí­stico. Especial atención se le ha brindado a lo que sin dudas constituye la más importante y vital de nuestras ventajas estructurales: el factor humano. Como es conocido, Cuba cuenta con una alta disponibilidad de mano de obra con un notable nivel de preparación, en condiciones de capacitarse rápidamente para desarrollar una eficaz y eficiente labor en cualquier campo.

El sistema turí­stico cubano ya contaba con un grupo de centros educacionales para la formación de sus recursos humanos, fruto de la obra continuada de la Revolución en materia de formación y desarrollo de su capital humano. En 1994 se decidió integrar todos estos centros en un sistema único de formación de recursos humanos, FORMATUR, que hoy dí­a lo conforman 22 centros docentes a lo largo y ancho del paí­s, donde matriculan anualmente 16 mil trabajadores del sector para formarse en diferentes especialidades. Miguel Figueras, asesor del Ministerio del Turismo, comentaba que “en cinco años de funcionamiento, por este sistema han pasado 75 mil trabajadores y resulta fácil comprender el alcance del mismo si se tiene en cuenta que el sector cuenta en la actualidad con 87 mil efectivos”.

Adicionalmente, como parte de la propia estrategia de desarrollo se ha consolidado un conjunto de principios de gestión que han contribuido a reforzar la competitividad estructural del sector. Entre ellos se pueden señalar los siguientes:

• La existencia de un nuevo enfoque respecto a la estructura organizativa de dirección. Desde su creación en 1994, el Ministerio del Turismo se concibió como un organismo central de nuevo tipo. Sus funciones se concentran la dirección y control de la polí­tica turí­stica del paí­s, la cual se encamina a potenciar la competitividad global del sector, garantizando su rentabilidad y sustentabilidad en el tiempo. Para lograr esta misión fue concebido con una extrema racionalidad en sus estructuras. El sistema empresarial bajo su mando se organiza a partir de un sistema de cadenas hoteleras y de infraestructura extrahotelera con un total de 18 entidades subordinadas.
• La concepción de que no existen monopolios. Las seis cadenas hoteleras (Cubanacán, Gran Caribe, Islazul, Horizontes, Gaviota y Habaguanex) compiten entre sí­ por el mercado turí­stico, cada una con sus especificidades, grado de especialización en diferentes segmentos y cierta tendencia a la diferenciación del producto. Carlos Lage, Vicepresidente del gobierno cubano, se ha referido recientemente a las ventajas de la combinación de estos dos enfoques al señalar que ello ha permitido “instaurar una polí­tica general para todos, bien definida ante cada variante, que en el caso de nuestro paí­s es perfectamente viable por la unidad del sistema turí­stico, donde la competencia entre unos y otros sólo puede ser en cuanto a calidad”.
• Se garantiza máxima autonomí­a de gestión dentro del sistema empresarial, basada en el hecho de que el turismo es un negocio. Ello demanda un servicio de óptima calidad y un estricto control de costos para generar utilidades. La actividad que no genere utilidades deberá reconvertirse o, sencillamente, cerrarse.
• Amplia utilización del “outsourcing”, partiendo del criterio de que las entidades turí­sticas no son especialistas en todo, por lo que es necesario subcontratar aquellos servicios que no son decisivos en la cadena de agregación de valor para concentrarse en aquellos que sí­ definen los niveles de eficacia en la actividad.

Como se puede apreciar, la estrategia de desarrollo del turismo en Cuba se ha sustentado en la combinación de un grupo de factores, entre los que se destacan la utilización de recursos heredados, el diseño e implementación de polí­ticas y la aplicación de nuevos enfoques de gestión ajustados a las condiciones concretas del paí­s. Todo ello ha conducido a un grupo de logros, como se ha expuesto en la primera parte del trabajo. Sin embargo, el desarrollo ulterior del turismo en Cuba debe considerar importantes aspectos, asociados a la solución de equilibrios estructurales básicos dentro del sector y a otros importantes retos que deberán enfrentarse para dar continuidad efectiva a la estrategia trazada.

RETOS PARA EL DESARROLLO DEL SECTOR

La oferta del producto turí­stico cubano se ha concebido buscando, como elemento clave, el logro de una demanda estable y equilibrada a fin de garantizar un flujo continuo de turistas a lo largo de todo el año, la elevación sistemática de la duración media de la estancia y un alto í­ndice de repetición de las visitas. Uno de los mecanismos más certeros para asegurar estos resultados es lograr la diversificación del producto.

Diversificar el producto turí­stico significa, desde el punto de vista de la oferta, aprovechar al máximo las posibilidades geográficas, económicas, sociales y culturales para llegar a todos los segmentos de mercado y a la mayor cantidad de mercados emisores de turistas. Ello permite evitar oscilaciones bruscas de la demanda según el perí­odo del año que puedan poner en peligro la estabilidad macroeconómica, pero, a la vez, demanda que todo el paí­s se convierta en actor y beneficiario del turismo. De ahí­ que tres de los equilibrios básicos por los que se trabaja en el sector se refieran a la estabilidad temporal, el equilibrio espacial y el equilibrio en los mercados emisores.

A pesar de las bondades del clima, que pudiera contribuir favorablemente al logro de una estabilidad temporal, las estadí­sticas muestran que el turismo en Cuba no está exento de cierta dosis de estacionalidad. Existe un grupo de factores que han incidido en esto: la dependencia significativa de mercados como el europeo y canadiense, con preferencias marcadas en huir del crudo invierno del norte y refugiarse en zonas cálidas; el temor a temporadas ciclónicas de mayor actividad, así­ como el excesivo calor de los meses de verano en el paí­s.

La estacionalidad, caracterizada por perí­odos de alta y de baja turí­stica, introduce importantes barreras al desempeño eficiente del sector. El propio Vicepresidente Lage se ha referido a que en perí­odos de baja “el problema capital del creciente negocio del turismo es, desde el punto de vista económico, saber enfrentar esta estación en la que es más bajo el número de turistas y, por tanto, se elevan los costos y se disminuyen las utilidades”.

Sin embargo, probablemente el factor que más haya incidido desde el punto de vista de la oferta sea el concebir como producto turí­stico por excelencia el de sol y playa, desestimando otros productos atractivos que pudieran posibilitar una mayor estabilidad de los flujos de turistas y, a la vez, una mayor agregación de valor. Por esta razón es que resulta necesario diversificar la oferta turí­stica lo más posible, ofreciendo diferentes opciones atractivas durante todo el año, a partir de la adecuada utilización de las propias ventajas, heredadas o creadas, a disposición del paí­s.

Entre las ofertas que pudieran resultar atractivas se encuentran las asociadas con la cultura y las tradiciones del paí­s. La historia, la arquitectura, la música, el cine y la plástica, entre otras, son manifestaciones que pudieran agregar valor a un producto turí­stico más acabado, integrado y sostenible.

El turismo de salud constituye otra opción significativa que se sustenta en el reconocido prestigio internacional de la ciencia medica cubana, lo que concede una ventaja competitiva en el área. El principal exponente de esta vertiente turí­stica es la Compañí­a Servimed perteneciente al Grupo Corporativo Cubanacán S.A., la que está vinculada con cinco hoteles, 23 hospitales, 11 clí­nicas internacionales y un complemento de ópticas y farmacias. En la actualidad este segmento ocupa un 2 por ciento de la oferta turí­stica y, aunque no se aspira a crecimientos espectaculares en los próximos años, el potencial existente es amplio y las posibilidades de agregación de valor resultan significativas.

La educación y el deporte constituyen fuentes importantes de desarrollo de productos turí­sticos especializados. A tenor con los logros alcanzados por el paí­s en estas dos esferas de la vida social, representan importantes ventajas a explotar con alto potencial de agregación de valor. Asimismo, el ecoturismo puede erigirse en un producto turí­stico interesante si se tienen en cuenta las importantes reservas del paí­s en esta esfera.

Una de las debilidades que presenta el producto turí­stico cubano en la actualidad es su alto grado de concentración en dos polos, La Habana y Varadero, los que generan el 70 por ciento del ingreso global del sector. Es por ello que entre los objetivos principales de la estrategia de desarrollo del turismo se encuentra el de lograr una distribución equilibrada de la demanda desde el punto de vista espacial. Con el logro de una mejor distribución del flujo de turistas por todo el territorio nacional, el sector puede actuar como corrector de los desequilibrios regionales. Ello, sin embargo, no debe conducir a la promoción indiscriminada de la actividad turí­stica en los diferentes territorios, pues no serí­a recomendable en materia de efectividad de los recursos invertidos.

En este sentido, se han identificado ocho regiones principales a lo largo del paí­s, denominadas polos turí­sticos, en los que debe concentrarse la estrategia de diversificación territorial del producto turí­stico cubano. Hasta la fecha se han destinado alrededor de 700 millones de dólares en inversiones de infraestructura para el desarrollo de estos polos. La polí­tica de diversificación territorial se sustenta en evitar la dispersión desmesurada de los recursos.

Además del desafí­o que implica la diversificación del producto turí­stico, existe un grupo de retos adicionales que deberán enfrentarse como parte del proceso de expansión y desarrollo del turismo en la economí­a cubana. La elevación de la eficiencia económica del sector es uno de ellos. A pesar de su reducción significativa respecto a perí­odos anteriores, aún se registra un grupo de entidades turí­sticas que generan pérdidas por un monto de 35 millones de dólares. En tal sentido, ha sido planteado por varios directivos del sector que la reducción de los costos de explotación sin afectar la calidad del servicio y la elevación de la eficiencia del proceso inversionista constituyen los ejes principales en esta dirección.

Otro reto importante a enfrentar es el balance entre la capacidades hoteleras y extrahoteleras. Durante la década de los 90 se hizo un marcado énfasis en la construcción de capacidades hoteleras como elemento central del proceso inversionista concentrando en ellas el 73 por ciento de las inversiones. Así­ a finales de 1999 se habí­an construido unos 60 hoteles, llevando la planta hotelera del paí­s a la segunda más importante de la región del Caribe. El 27 por ciento restante se destinó a obras de infraestructura (11.3 por ciento a aeropuertos y 5.6 a pedraplenes), quedando para el desarrollo de capacidades extrahoteleras vinculadas con la restauración y la recreación sólo un 13.8 por ciento. Todo ello ha generado un desequilibrio que provoca una pérdida de diversidad en los atractivos turí­sticos.

En este sentido, el desafí­o del sector consiste en aminorar los ritmos de crecimiento inversionista en la planta hotelera y acelerar las inversiones en la red extrahotelera, si se tiene en cuenta que, a pesar de los limitados recursos invertidos en ella, genera aproximadamente el 18 por ciento de los ingresos turí­sticos. Ello presupone un cambio de mentalidad en la concepción de los negocios turí­sticos: Si en un principio lo más importante fue crecer en cuanto a número de turistas mediante la oferta predominante de paquetes ?all inclusive?, en estos momentos es necesario repensar el producto turí­stico nacional y decidir si continuar creciendo de forma desmedida en la planta hotelera o desarrollar ofertas adicionales mediante el desarrollo de la red extrahotelera.

Por último, el desarrollo del turismo en los paí­ses insulares como Cuba depende en alto grado del transporte aéreo. En el Caribe, el centro aéreo regional de los vuelos regulares se encuentra en Miami, al cual Cuba no puede acceder por barreras que impone el bloqueo económico norteamericano a la Isla. Es por ello que uno de los desafí­os que tiene que enfrentar el paí­s es la reconceptualización de su transportación aérea, partiendo de que la prioridad y la razón de ser de la aviación civil en Cuba es el desarrollo del turismo.

LA EXPERIENCIA CUBANA

El desarrollo del turismo en Cuba, al cabo de una década de duro bregar, es una realidad, así­ como la consolidación del sector como factor estructural de la economí­a. El crecimiento sostenido de su participación en el PIB es sorprendente y poco usual en la historia económica internacional. En la arena internacional, el posicionamiento alcanzado en el contexto caribeño es calificado de espectacular por muchos especialistas cuando evalúan las posiciones cimeras logradas dentro de la región en el escaso margen de un decenio.

Cabe destacar que este crecimiento se diferencia sustancialmente de la situación de los demás paí­ses caribeños e, incluso de otros polos turí­sticos dentro del Tercer Mundo. Los factores asociados al bloqueo económico de los Estados Unidos generan un contexto especial al respecto que Cuba ha sabido sortear de forma inteligente.

La estrategia de desarrollo del sector ha presentado, adicionalmente, otras particularidades como son la definición de prioridades, la utilización del efecto arrastre de otros sectores de la economí­a a partir de la demanda agregada del sector, la incorporación de agentes externos al proceso de desarrollo con caracterí­sticas especí­ficas, así­ como una marcada atención al desarrollo de sus recursos humanos.

Como resultado de la implementación de esta estrategia se han puesto de manifiesto, a la par con los logros alcanzados, ciertos desbalances, dificultades y deficiencias que se erigen en retos para el desarrollo perspectivo del sector. Entre ellos, cabe destacar los relacionados con el logro de los equilibrios espacial, temporal y el de mercados emisores. Por otra parte, aparecen otros retos que constituyen aspectos claves a considerar en la estrategia futura del sector. En tal sentido emergen los problemas asociados a la elevación de la eficiencia económica, el balance en cuanto a destinos de inversión y el desarrollo del tráfico aéreo.

Todo ello converge a un planteamiento esencial: El sector turí­stico cubano, después de vencer una etapa de expansión sin precedentes, se enfrenta al desafí­o de elevar su capacidad competitiva con importantes oportunidades que pueden ser aprovechadas, así­ como un grupo de ventajas indiscutibles que pueden apalancar este proceso. Existen importantes retos a enfrentar, especialmente la permanente amenaza del brutal bloqueo económico norteamericano que le imprime un sesgo sui generis a su desarrollo. Por otro lado, las debilidades asociadas a factores objetivos y subjetivos tendrán que apoyarse en una estrategia coherente en la que se involucre adecuadamente el uso del capital humano del paí­s como recurso económico principal.

EN EL NUEVO MILENIO, CUBA SIGUE “APOSTANDO” AL TURISMO

Tras los efectos provocados por los lamentables sucesos del pasado 11 de septiembre y la no menos lamentable guerra que estos han desencadenado, el ministro Ferradaz ha planteado en una conferencia de prensa que “Cuba espera con optimismo la temporada alta del turismo” que comienza en diciembre del 2001. A pesar de lo deprimido que se encuentra el mercado turí­stico internacional en la actualidad, considera que existen “dos elementos fundamentales que avalan esa visión positiva: Cuba es un destino turí­stico con altí­simos niveles de seguridad, lo cual constituye uno de los valores más apreciados por quienes visitan nuestro archipiélago y, por otra parte, el mercado que más limitaciones posee es el estadounidense y este no ejerce incidencias grandes en nuestras temporadas turí­sticas”.

Tras plantear los necesarios ajustes tácticos que ha tenido que efectuar el paí­s para enfrentar la actual depresión, Ferradaz destacó que “lo ocurrido no interfiere el grupo de importantes construcciones en marcha”. Ello confirma que el turismo continuará siendo uno de los sectores clave de la economí­a cubana. Se seguirá “apostando” a las excelentes perspectivas del sector en el paí­s que, como señalara el Presidente Fidel Castro, se sustentan en “su riqueza ecológica, clima de seguridad pública, social, moral y por su cultura e historia”.

Se han trazado un grupo de pautas en la definición de los rasgos del tipo de producto turí­stico que Cuba, como destino, se empeña en desarrollar. El propio Presidente Fidel Castro se ha referido a esto en los siguientes términos: “El turismo sexual no se admitirá aquí­ jamás, ni drogas, ni cosas por el estilo. No es un turismo de juego; es un turismo sano, y ese es el que queremos, ese es el que promovemos, porque hoy sabemos que en el mundo una de las preocupaciones fundamentales de los turistas es la seguridad y estamos en condiciones de darla. Tenemos un pueblo hospitalario, un nivel de educación alto y creciente; es decir, estamos en condiciones de brindar estos servicios turí­sticos y, a la vez, cooperar con los paí­ses del Caribe”.

No se trata, por tanto, de aprovechar una oportunidad de carácter cortoplacista asociada al factor “curiosidad” que pudiera despertar Cuba ni tampoco de asumir un “mal necesario” en el seno de una sociedad socialista, versiones manejadas por algunos analistas al vislumbrar la impresionante dinámica del sector. Se trata, pues, de un desarrollo estratégico, asociado a la creación de un nuevo concepto de turismo sustentable desde el punto de vista de sus dimensiones ecológica, económica y social. 

Winter 2002 ,  Volume I, Number 2

Nélida Gancedo Gaspar  is a professor at the Center for Studies of the Cuban Economy at the University of Havana. She has carried out several studies on the impact of tourism on the Cuban economy. She has published a variety of articles and has spoken on this subject at scientific conferences on and off the island.

Orlando Gutiérrez Castillo  es profesor del Centro de Estudios de la Economí­a Cubana de la Universidad de La Habana y consultor gerencial en empresas e instituciones cubanas, algunas de ellas pertenecientes al sector del turismo. Durante los últimos cinco años ha desarrollado investigaciones sobre el desempeño turí­stico en la Isla. Ha publicado diversos artí­culos sobre este tema tanto dentro como fuera de Cuba.

Nélida Gancedo Gaspar  es profesora de la Facultad de Economí­a de la Universidad de La Habana. Ha desarrollado diversas investigaciones sobre el impacto del turismo en la economí­a cubana. Ha publicado diversos artí­culos y presentado ponencias en eventos cientí­ficos sobre este tema tanto dentro como fuera de Cuba.

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Cuba Tourism Faces Shortages of Visitors and Supplies

Dave Sherwood, Marc Frank and Nelson Acosta, Reuters

February 18th, 2023 at 7:58 AM EST

Tourism officials in Cuba have to fight the perception that a visit isn't worth the hassle because of ongoing blackouts and shortages.

Dennis Schaal

British birdwatcher Harriet Babeo arrived at Cuba’s Bay of Pigs earlier this week and promptly racked up 80 species for her list including the world’s smallest hummingbird and the elusive red, white and blue Cuban trogon, rarities found only the island.

Far more challenging, she told Reuters, was hunting down a few liters of gasoline for her group’s rental car.

“We’ve gone … three days now, and (the service stations) have had nothing,” Babeo said over breakfast, binoculars and bird book near at hand, at a private home-stay on Cuba’s serene Bay of Pigs.

Tourists like Babeo who spoke with Reuters often raved about their experience in Cuba, praising the country’s hospitality, culture and weather. But increasingly, says Paolo Spadoni, an economist with Augusta University, visitors must confront the realities of Cuba’s economic crisis – the worst in decades – an ominous headwind as the country struggles to breathe new life into its all-important tourism sector.

“If you see how slow the recovery of the Cuban tourism sector is compared to other countries, it tells you there are deeper problems,” Spadoni said.

Cuba in 2022 received 1.6 million visitors, just 38% of the 4.3 million who traveled to the island in 2019, prior to the pandemic. Neighboring Dominican Republic, meanwhile, saw 7.2 million visitors in 2022, up 11.1% over 2019.

Policies implemented by U.S. President Donald Trump have scared off many tourists, Spadoni said. Trump ended cruise ship dockings and flights from the United States and put travelers of other nationalities who visited the island at risk of complicating entry to the United States.

But Cuba’s centrally planned economy, he said, has also failed to ensure adequate infrastructure and supply chains to serve those who still venture forth, souring some visitors and making it “very unlikely” Cuba will hit its goal of 3.5 million visitors in 2023.

“It’s a combination of things that create more and more problems just traveling to Cuba and in the end, many just decide to go somewhere else,” Spadoni said.

The Cuban government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cuba reported 246,000 visitors in January, a slower start to the year than likely necessary to hit its targets, but far better than the first month of 2022, when only 86,400 tourists arrived.

Part of the Experience

Large, state-owned hotels in Havana and on sandy keys offshore account for much of Cuba’s tourism revenue, official statistics show.

But at Playa Larga, a palm-fringed white sand beach deep inside the Bay of Pigs, small private homeowners still fight for their share of tourists, offering home-cooked meals, cozy rooms and Cuban hospitality.

Amauri Lugo, who runs a small home-stay near the beach, said even breakfast basics – milk, bread, eggs, cheese, ham – were hard to come by this year. And while electrical service has improved since December, he said, blackouts were so common last year that tourists often ate dinner by candlelight.

“It made it difficult to attend (to) visitors, but a lot of them understood and cooperated, even enjoyed those moments,” he said.

Collin Laverty, founder of Cuba Educational Travel (CET), said such flexibility is a hallmark of travel to Cuba.

“I always tell travelers there’s definitely a challenging situation on the ground, shortages, inflation, and you’ll experience those things, and you should, because that’s part of going to a country and learning about the reality,” he said.

And for those not interested in roughing it, there are other options, he told Reuters.

“There’s certainly nice hotels with strong internet, bathrooms with toilet paper, and nice restaurants,” Laverty said. “You can see the challenges but you don’t necessarily have to live them first hand as travelers.”

(Reporting by Dave Sherwood in Playa Larga; Additional reporting by Marc Frank and Nelson Acosta in Havana; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

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Photo credit: A stop on a TravelLocal arranged tour of Cuba. The country's tourism rebound has been sluggish compared with its neighbors. TravelLocal

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The impact of u.s. cuba policies on cuban tourism industry: focus on the obama and trump administration.

Jukka M. Laitamaki , New York University Follow Antonio D. Medina , University of Havana Follow Lisandra T. Hechavarria , University of Havana Follow

The difficult United States - Cuba foreign relations have shaped the Cuban tourism industry from pre-revolution times when Cuba was the most popular Caribbean destination for American tourists, to the post-revolution events including the economic blockade established by President Kennedy. American presidents have used the U.S. Cuba policies to control American tourists’ access to Cuba. This study investigates the impact of U.S. Cuba policies on the Cuban tourism industry with a focus on the Obama and Trump administrations. It estimates the impact of Obama and Trump Cuba policies based on the number of U.S. tourist arrivals between 2014 and 2019. The study addresses these impacts in the context of the growth of the Cuban tourism industry between 1990 and 2019 in terms of tourist arrivals from key source markets. This study concludes that the Cuban tourism industry has been strongly influenced by the U.S. Cuba policy during the Obama and Trump administration. Starting in 2009 President Obama improved the U.S. - Cuba relations and in 2017 the U.S. became the largest source market with 1,228,680 Americans visiting Cuba. This growth reversed to a drastic decline in 2019 as President Trump’s travel restrictions started to have a major impact.

https://www.doi.org/10.5038/9781955833035

Recommended Citation

Laitamaki, J. M., Medina, A. D., & Hechavarria, L. T. (2021). The impact of U.S. Cuba policies on Cuban tourism industry: Focus on the Obama and Trump Administration. In C. Cobanoglu, & V. Della Corte (Eds.), Advances in global services and retail management (pp. 1–11). USF M3 Publishing. https://www.doi.org/10.5038/9781955833035

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• Cuba Tourism And Hotel Market Trends

Statistics for the 2023 & 2024 Cuba Tourism And Hotel market trends, created by Mordor Intelligence™ Industry Reports. Cuba Tourism And Hotel trend report includes a market forecast to 2029 and historical overview. Get a sample of this industry trends analysis as a free report PDF download.

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Market Trends of Cuba Tourism And Hotel Industry

Increasing tourist arrivals to cuba is driving the market.

The tourism market recorded a moderate growth rate during the early review period (2017-2018), but owing to the effects of US sanctions, total arrivals to the nation dropped. This downtrend was supported by the sudden COVID-19 pandemic which hit the island nation in early 2020. During the period, the country recorded only about 1.1 million tourist footfalls, which is more than 4 million lesser as compared to previous years. However, the tourist attractions in the country are bringing confidence to the market, especially Havana, Varadero, Trinidad, and Vinales, which are the most popular tourist destinations in Cuba and are well prepared to welcome guests. Havana, the capital of Cuba, with its Spanish colonial architecture, and iconic landmarks such as the National Capitol Building from the 1920s, has been attracting several architectural lovers to the nations. Similarly, Old Havana (Habana Vieja), The Malecón, Castillo de Los Tres Reyes del Morro, and the National Museum of Fine Arts are serving as a must-see in the city and have been attracting tourists.

Growing Tourism Market is Encouraging Expansion of the Hotel Market in the Country

The hotel market in Cuba is growing with the increasing number of tourists to the country. The hotel market is on an expansion path in the nation over the past decades. Tourist arrivals have been on an upward trend during recent years (which reduced in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), and arrivals to Cuba have been optimistic and grew impressively. The nation continues to flow in line with the global growth rate while increasing its arrivals steadily. To accommodate the growing number of tourists, the hotel market has been recording a growth in total number of bed supply in Cuba. Over the years, the number of establishments in the market increased gradually offering more scope for the establishment of new hotels. Thus, the hotel market is anticipated to continue to grow over the forecast period as well with a slow yet sturdy growth rate.

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A business journal from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Havana or Bust: How U.S.-Cuba Relations Will Impact Tourism

March 23, 2015 • 12 min read.

Following President Obama’s relaxing of U.S. travel restrictions, does Cuba have the potential to re-assert itself as a major tourist destination for Americans?

• Public Policy

When Fidel Castro took power in Cuba in 1959, dozens of flights connected the airports of Miami and Havana on a daily basis, and the luxury hotels and glittery nightclubs of the Cuban capital were as common a destination for middle-class Americans as the casinos of Las Vegas are today. The U.S. embargo on trade with Cuba, imposed in 1960, put an abrupt end to all that, creating an anomaly that has long defied geography, technology and globalization: Even as American travelers have grown increasingly familiar with distant locations in Europe, China, India and elsewhere, they have been legally banned from visiting the largest island in the Caribbean, a mere 90 miles from Key West, Florida.

That is about to change. In December, the Obama administration relaxed those travel restrictions, signaling the beginning of the end of the travel ban — and, quite possibly, the re-emergence of a major market for American air carriers, hotel chains, rental car firms and the like. What impact will these changes in U.S. regulations have on short- and longer-term U.S. travel to Cuba? And what further changes will have to be made before Cuba re-emerges as the largest U.S. travel destination in the Caribbean?

The good news for U.S. travelers is that the new regulations allow Americans to visit the island for any of a dozen specific reasons, including family visits, education and religion, without first obtaining a special license from the U.S. government, as was previously required. Travelers may now import up to $400 worth of goods per person from Cuba on their return to the United States, including $100 worth of cigars and rum. U.S. citizens can now use U.S. credit and debit cards, and U.S. financial firms can now open accounts at Cuban banks and enroll merchants there. As of March 1, MasterCard begin to do so in Cuba.

The bad news is that it is still illegal for a U.S. citizen to visit Cuba with no other goal in mind but to enjoy a week of sun and surf.

A Unique Combination

To fully relax the U.S. travel ban will require the repeal by Congress of the Helms-Burton Act of 1996, which extended the territorial application of the initial embargo to apply to foreign companies trading with Cuba, and penalized foreign companies that allegedly “trafficked” in property formerly owned by American citizens but confiscated by Cuba.

Assuming that Congress does eventually repeal Helms-Burton, does Cuba really have the potential to re-assert itself as a major tourist destination for Americans?

“It is not easy to do business in a country that is in transition.” –Hugo Cancio

Stephen Kobrin, a Wharton emeritus management professor, notes that Cuba benefits from a unique combination of advantages: It is both geographically close to the U.S., yet exotic because of the history of its relationship with the United States. While it’s only a one-hour flight from Miami International Airport, Cuba is considered “fascinating … forbidden fruit” because of its long isolation from the currents of globalization, which has left many of its landscapes suspended in time. Over the past several decades, Cuba has developed a significant appeal for budget-minded European and Canadian travelers attracted by this spirit of “adventure tourism.” Such travelers are willing to accept relatively spartan facilities well below the standards demanded by middle-tier and upscale American travelers.

“,” Kobrin asks, “will they have the infrastructure to handle” the coming surge of travelers who demand more luxurious amenities?

Tomas Bilbao, executive director of the nonprofit Cuba Study Group, which manages such initiatives as the Cuba Study Group Microfinance Fund, the Cuban Enterprise Fund, and the Cuba IT and Social Media Initiative, argues that Cuban tourism should benefit not just from its proximity to the United States, but “its cultural affinity” to the U.S. Hispanic community, and from nostalgia about the good old days when flying off to Cuba for a brief vacation was commonplace.

Apart from Havana, with its penchant for 1950s-era American cars, Cuba is an island of natural beauty, endowed with “some nice beaches” and a significant natural diversity, says Bilbao, whose organization is based in Washington, D.C. Moreover, Cuba is “one of the safest places for an American tourist to visit,” in stark contrast to such Latin American destinations as Brazil, Venezuela and some Caribbean islands.

Eddie Lubbers, who runs the Cuban Travel Network, an online travel portal, agrees with that assessment. Hosted in the Netherlands, his company’s website enables travelers from the U.S. to book land-tour reservations in Cuba, but not to buy air tickets to that country. Although “tourism” by Americans is still illegal, if they fit into one of the 12 authorized categories, American travelers to Cuba are not officially considered “tourists” by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), which oversees such travel.

The process of qualifying for such an OFAC-authorized category is “self-censoring,” says Lubbers, making it more unlikely than in the past that anyone will be found to have been violating U.S. law. Not only has supervision of the rules become more lax, but it’s also become easier for Americans to mix the pleasures of being a tourist in Cuba with the business of building “people-to-people” ties. Many U.S. visitors who travel to Cuba ostensibly for cultural, business, humanitarian and other theoretically non-touristic goals engage in a wide range of leisure activities. Such diversions include catamaran tours on the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea; walking and driving tours of Havana seated in vintage 1950s American vehicles, and excursions to such remote tobacco-growing locales as the Viñales Valley, a unique landscape dotted with gigantic “mogotes” — karst formations — “surrounding a lovely valley with rich red earth and majestic palm trees,” according to the Cuba Travel Network site. Travel agents say that those U.S. travelers (not to be confused with “tourists”) who spend at least some of their time on the island pursuing cultural, business or humanitarian goals are free to enjoy dinner at a restaurant in a historic Havana fortress, listen to salsa performers or attend a “phenomenal show at the Cabaret Parisien” — all without violating the spirit of the waning U.S. embargo.

“It will take time for Cuba to be fully ready to take advantage of these new conditions, but they are working on it….” –Hugo Cancio

Potholes and Incomplete Highways

Although Lubbers lauds the availability of compact European-made rental cars, Bilbao notes that getting around Cuba can be a challenge. “The [road] signs are nonexistent, there are large potholes and the central highway remains incomplete.” Not only do the amenities in most Cuban hotels lag behind those in other Caribbean locations, the phones don’t work, says Bilbao. The Obama administration’s recent move to allow U.S. phone companies to do business in Cuba should help in this regard, along with the arrival of U.S. credit card companies to provide services on the island.

“It is not easy to do business in a country that is in transition,” says Cuba-born Hugo Cancio, chief executive of Miami-based Fuego Enterprises, which represents U.S. companies that want to do business in Cuba. “Cuba has built a very solid infrastructure in European tourism markets,” Cancio notes. “While there are several ‘five-star’ hotels,” — mostly operated by the Sol Meliá group of Spain, which has 26 hotels in Cuba — “there are not enough five-star hotels to accommodate an explosion of American tourists.” A lot of private homes are also being turned into hotels — properties that Cancio described as “wonderful” because of their unique, local charm. Giant chains such as Hilton International and Marriott have issued statements indicating that they look forward to opening hotels in Cuba, presumably after the embargo is lifted.

“It will take time for Cuba to be fully ready to take advantage of these new conditions,” Cancio concludes, “But they are working on it. No one was expecting the announcements of the relaxation of controls…. There will be gradual change. When the embargo is officially lifted, the Cubans will be ready.”

A 30% Uptick

How vast is the potential for Cuba tourism in the longer term? Lubbers says that after President Obama relaxed controls on American travel in Cuba in December, “our business went up 30% in January.” Virtually overnight, “the United States has become our No. 1 market,” he adds, followed by Canada, Great Britain and Germany, and other European countries that had been his main sources of business. According to Lubbers, even before January’s announcement by President Obama, American travelers were always among his agency’s top five sources of business. Many were flying to Cuba via stopovers through international cities that offer scheduled flights to Havana, especially Panama City, Panama; Cancun, Mexico, and Nassau, Bahamas. In all, some 124,000 American travelers were authorized to travel to Cuba last year, a drop in the bucket compared with the 20 million or so Americans who traveled to Mexico in 2013.

Within weeks, Lubbers expects his Cuba Travel Network will be able to offer Americans the option of purchasing tickets online for the chartered U.S.-Cuba flights that are already licensed. Soon thereafter, anticipates Lubbers, U.S. carriers such as Jet Blue, American Airlines and Delta will start offering scheduled flights to Havana from U.S. airports, especially Miami. Those airlines have already announced their desire to provide such service. “That is now only a matter of bilateral discussions” between U.S. and Cuban officials, he notes. For that to happen, however, the embargo first has to be ended officially by Congress.

“Cubans are unlikely to make the instant transition to capitalism. The Eastern Europeans were revolting against external domination, but in Cuba, [the adoption of Communism] was an internal process.” –Stephen Kobrin

How long will that take? Naturally, no one knows for sure. Cancio says that he is “optimistic that before the end of [the Obama] administration, the embargo will be lifted.” Some observers believe that the embargo will more likely be lifted quickly if the next president is a Democrat, but the Congress is controlled by Republicans, Cancio notes.

Even if the next president turns out to be a Republican, Cancio is confident that U.S.-Cuba economic ties — in the tourism sector and elsewhere — will continue to deepen because of growing support among a broad cross-section of the exile community in the United States. “The majority of Cubans in Miami want to lift the embargo,” he says, noting that 90% of the businesses that are flourishing in Cuba today are “Miami-owned by Americans.” Anybody who visits the island and chats with Cubans who live there knows that investments have been made by Cubans who live abroad, Cancio says. “The small and medium-size private businesses that are developing [in Cuba] are mostly doing so thanks to capital that is being invested by those who live outside the country. Some experts have estimated the rate of remittances to Cuba at $2 billion annually, and close to 50% of that is being invested, or planned for investment, in small businesses.”

Faquiry Diaz Cala, a Miami-based venture capitalist and private-equity investor, says that “tourism is a great way to get dollars into the Cuban economy. It will spur a significant number of small tour operators” and promote further development, as well as more conversions of small homes into European-style bed-and-breakfast establishments and small restaurants — known as “paladares” — for travelers “looking for history” and an authentic experience, rather than for familiar high-end luxuries.

Kobrin wonders how quickly the Cuban government will commit itself to opening up to foreign investment so that it can attract the large-scale capital influx that Cuba will need in order to develop a modern infrastructure, which in turn would attract a higher volume of travelers, including upscale travelers.

Unlike the peoples of Eastern Europe following the collapse of the Berlin Wall, “the Cubans are unlikely to make the instant transition to capitalism,” Kobrin suggests. “The Eastern Europeans were revolting against external domination” — that is to say, against the communism imposed on them by the Soviet Union shortly after World War II. “But in Cuba, it was an internal process.” Moreover, despite the hardships suffered by the Cuban people over the decades, the Cuban state has not entirely lost the support of its population, and “they are not likely to ditch the state-controlled system” in its entirety. In addition, the normalization of Cuba’s economic relationship with the U.S. will require the two countries to settle all claims for properties expropriated by the Cuban regime in defiance of international law. More positively, despite their pride in going it alone for decades, the Cuban people have “very mixed feelings about the United States,” including affection for such emblematic symbols of American culture as baseball and classic cars.

Cancio advises the travel industry in other Caribbean countries not to be afraid of the coming wave of tourism to Cuba. For Puerto Rico and the smaller islands of the Caribbean, the key to survival, he advises, will be to promote Cuba as one of several multiple destinations in the travel packages of the future. One example might be to market trips that comprise two or three nights in San Juan, Puerto Rico, followed by a few nights in Havana and then another few nights at a third nearby destination. Rather than struggle against the tide of Cuba’s resurgence, he says, the other islands of the Caribbean would do better to embrace Cuba as a partner in their joint efforts to expand the appeal of the entire region.

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Cuba aims to improve tourism industry after pandemic travel slow down

By Hank Tester

Updated on: July 28, 2023 / 2:44 PM EDT / CBS Miami

MIAMI -- Airports are overflowing and Americans are traveling again on flights to Europe and other typical summer destinations.

But travel to the Caribbean is on the rise again despite the current warm-weather season in full effect right now.

Summers in the Caribbean traditionally have been considered the slow season, but not so much anymore. 

"Like the Dominican Republic (and) Jamaica, the Bahamas are having very good summers with their air traffic and flights from all over the world," said Alexander Britell, editor-in-chief of Caribbean Journal. 

"To bolster their strong tourism number, the Bahamas is specifically targeting promotional efforts at potential South Florida travelers especially new arrivals who might not realize the islands are just minutes away by air."

Many of the islands are getting tourist traffic that equals or exceeds the pre-pandemic boom travel years, experts said.

The Dominican Republic has seen historic levels of tourism through June, reaching about 8 million just by air this year, the largest in the country's history, according to officials.

Tourism these days is often measured on how well the sector has rebounded from COVID.

During the pandemic the DR had few restrictions and opened very early but not the case in Cuba.

"It is still not where it was before the pandemic which was four million visitors a year," Britell said. 

Cuba's hopes were that tourism in 2022 would generate 2.5 million visitors, but only a little over a million visited the island.

The country opened up later than other Caribbean Nations.

During the pandemic, Cuba's major source of tourism -- Canada -- had closed its borders, with Canadians unable to depart their country.

Now Canadian tour operators are planning a major push for Cuba this winter, Britell told CBS News Miami.

But Cuba has several issues, including:

• Wrestling with the lack of hotel rooms.
• Grappling with ongoing fuel issues;
• Struggling under the weight of the U.S. embargo which restricts significant American visitors.
• Flinching under occasional unrest and the inclusion of Cuba on the list of countries that sponsor terrorism. 

The Cuban government, which owns and operates much of the island's tourism infrastructure is looking to the Russians who have promised to provide massive economic aid, including increased flights into Cuba.

Said Britell, "They have gotten 4-5 percent of their tourism from Russia.  I am not sure it is going to make a massive dent in their recovery."

Juan Carlos Garcia, Cuba's minister of tourism, told members of Cuba's National Assembly that Canada continues to be the nation's main source of tourist traffic, followed by the Cuban American Exile Market.

He is banking on the Russians becoming the third tourist market for Cuba in part because of the anticipated increase in air charters from Russia.

In recent months talks between Chinese and Cuban tourism officials have been ongoing with the goal of increasing the tourist flow from China to the island nation.

Cuba aims to double its Chinese tourist arrivals by strengthening its ecotourism, cultural, health, and nautical tourism industries, among other options according to state-controlled media.

Hank Tester is a CBS4 News general assignment reporter. He joined WFOR-TV CBS4 Miami in October 2015.

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A Tourist’s Look at the Cuban Tourism Industry

Ken Hiebert*

HAVANA TIMES — According to our tour guide, the biggest source of foreign exchange for Cuba is tourism.  Another Cuban, a critic of the government, disagreed. He told me that the biggest source of foreign exchange is the export of medical personnel. Whatever the truth of this, tourism is a big part of the Cuban economy.

Our tour guide put the number of tourist arrivals each year over 2,000,000 (Wikipedia puts it near 3,000,000). If each one of these people bring $1,000.00 into Cuba, that’s over two billion dollars.

So tourism is vital to the survival of Cuba. But it is a source of tension as well. Cubans are confronted with people who may or may not be in sympathy with the Revolution, but who clearly have more money and more material goods than the average Cuban.

It must be galling to know that some places in Cuba are reserved for foreigners, even if this is part of an effort to bring in more income from tourism.

Not surprisingly, many Cubans who come into contact with tourists want to sell them something.  A few are willing to engage in scams. These are the hustlers or jineteros.

I discussed this in another posting and it provoked some angry responses.  So the meeting of Cubans and tourists is not without stress.

There are numerous sub-categories of tourism in Cuba.  You can bicycle from one end of Cuba to the other.  http://travellingtwo.com/13318  There are tours for sports groups and musical groups.   http://canadacuba.com/faq/ .

Some people go to Cuba to study ( http://www.topuniversities.com/ ) .  “As of 2007, 28,889 international students were studying in Cuba…”  Some of these, at least, are heavily subsidized by the Cuban government and could hardly be said to bring in foreign exchange.

According to one Cuban we spoke to, a woman who was teaching Spanish to foreign visitors, some visitors sign up for classes just to get a longer visa. She had a class of retirees from Italy as well as one person from Croatia. They were not working hard on their Spanish, preferring to hang out with their friends in sidewalk restaurants.

According to our tour guide the biggest group of tourists comes from Canada. And I thought she said the next largest group comes from Argentina, but I have been unable to confirm that.  We ran into some visitors from Brazil and even some from the US.

With certain exceptions Americans are barred from going to Cuba. But we met a family from Georgia who had been visiting in Costa Rica and came to Cuba from there. The Cubans do not stamp their passports and so they can return to the US without US Customs & Immigration being any the wiser. As long as they do not make the news or get into trouble.

Our tour guide was personable and she was willing to be quite frank. She described the tourism of the ’90s as mainly sex tourism. When a choir member asked her why it seemed that Che Guevera was more popular than Castro she started out by saying, “He’s dead.” Then she went on to tell us of his important role in the revolutionary struggle and in the first years after the revolution. She ended by saying, “…and he was good looking.”

We had an amusing experience with what I think the Cubans call “secretism.” The same Cuban man came to a series of our concerts. One of our choir leaders approached him and asked him who he was.  It turned out that he was the Cuban official in charge of our tour and he was the supervisor of our tour guide. Why they couldn’t have said that from the beginning is not clear to me. In any case we had a great time with the two of them. They heard our songs so many times that by the end of our week they were both singing with us.

Whatever stresses are placed on Cuba now could be multiplied if Americans are allowed to travel to Cuba in greater numbers. A television documentary here quoted a high ranking Cuban official to the effect that Cuba would need many more golf courses to accommodate an expanded tourist industry.

Who could have predicted that more than 50 years after the Cuban Revolution, Cuba would be dependent on tourists from wealthy countries?  Marx, Engels, Lenin, Marti, etc. did not write anything on how to deal with such a challenge. The Cubans will be obliged to figure it out for themselves. —– (*) A Canadian tourist who reads HT.

• Cuban Cuisine: From Riches to Rags
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9 thoughts on “ A Tourist’s Look at the Cuban Tourism Industry ”

The Cubans may not have affluence like some other countries, but they more than make up for it with culture and education, something the U.S. could learn about!

There is a difference between an elderly lady marching from church on Sunday armed with a gladiola (Ladies in White) and a muslim extremist and bombmaker planning to bomb a shopping mall. Castro’s secret police use very AGGRESSIVE actions against opposition groups. Of course, it is possible that not everyone in Guantanamo is a terrorist and guilty of a crime but everyone involved as a Ladies in White member is innocent.

Yes Moses just almost on par with your buddies down in Guantanamo, as least the Cuban incumbents had a trial.

I heartily disagree. If by NO aggression, you mean to say that Cuba does not keep a naval carrier group on alert in the Persian Gulf like the US, then you are correct. But Cuba is on pace to unlawfully detain, arrest and ultimately even incarcerate more than 5,000 Cubans this year.whose only crime is that they disagree with their government. Most of these detentions include beatings. This applies to both men and women, young and old. Sounds very aggressive to me. Cuba “belongs” to the Castro oligarchy. Proof of this is simply given: in the last 54 years, who has made the ultimate decision with regards to Cuba’s destiny. Hint: last name rhymes with ‘gastro’.

In that particular group of students, one was from Croatia. Most were from Italy.

“One person from Croatia”, just it. As in “one person from China”, “one person from Russia”, “one person from the moon”…

While tour guides know about historical landmarks and some about Cuban history, they have little information about Cuban economics or visitors.

The US is clearly the #2 source of visitors. 573,986 Americans visited Cuba last year. (Havana Times 7 Aug 2013 quoting Havana Consulting Group)

Cuba’s biggest source of foreign exchange is neither export of medical personnel or overall tourism but remittances, predominantly from the US. (11 June 2013 Havana Consulting Group)

However it does appear that the US may have been recently displaced as the #1 external food supplier to Cuba.

The Cuban people may have a shortfall in consumer goods and other items set against the more affluent countries around the world, but as a visitor to Cuba on a number of occasions I find Cuba a nation of NO aggression which is in control of its own destiny, do not lose this fact and control YOUR own future and do not allow once again the money grabbers in to take control of YOUR beautiful country, after all Cuba belongs to the Cuban’s irrespective of creed colour or religion. Moses will probably disagree if he is not on holiday. My passport has been stamped a number of times entering and leaving Cuba and if I am refused entry into any country, it will be their loss!!

As I am from Croatia I don’t understand in what context is this “one student from Croatia…” ??? What are we some rare animals or …?

Comments are closed.

Surge of Americans tests limits of Cuba's tourism industry

• Medium Text

Reporting by Jaime Hamre; Additional reporting by Nelson Acosta; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Kieran Murray

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US blockade’s impacts on tourism underlined in Cuba

• June 26, 2024

A report published in Granma newspaper on Wednesday points out that this is a limiting factor. It mentions that Cuba’s tourism industry, as a driving force for other sectors, has a fundamental impact on the implementation of the National Economic and Social Development Plan and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and its goals.

However, the article insists that external factors such as the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the US Government have a negative impact on the sector’s growth and development.

The general director of Marketing at the Ministry of Tourism of Cuba (MINTUR), Pilar Alvarez, explained that as a result, exchanges with US entrepreneurs who are interested in investing in tourist projects have ceased.

Regarding the impact of this policy on commercial, banking and financial operations, the official pointed out that Cuban companies and hotel groups cannot access investment funds and credit lines originated in the United States or other countries that comply with the US sanctions and their extraterritorial application.

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• # BLOCKADE # Cuba # economy # FINANCE # impact # sanctions # tourism # US

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Inbound tourism revenue in Cuba 2010-2021, by category

Revenue from international tourism in cuba from 2010 to 2021, by category (in million u.s. dollars).

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