Havana Cruise
Recently a Swedish friend asked me in an email to tell him about Cuba´s booming tourism industry. My response should be heard by others, and for this, I decided to share.
The largest of the Antilles, from a natural resource standpoint, has the same as the other nations in the area. So what distinguishes us, why do we stand out? First I should say that tourism is an economic activity and it has had its place in this country since the beginning of the twentieth century.
You must not forget that Havana was at one point, one of North Americans´ preferred destinations, especially during their winter. Because of this, the majority of Havana´s hotels (which have of course have been remodeled) are more than 60 years old, but certainly within the country, in other areas, hotel construction has been significant in the last 15-20 years; the best example may be Varadero Beach.
The workers are one of the differentiating factors; it´s very normal here to encounter college graduates, lawyers, economists, etc. working as bartenders, carpenters or chefs in any hotel and also in other areas of accommodation. This degree of professionalism (and it´s not just a little) and quality service can be noticed by visitors.
I believe the security and tranquility found in any part of the country, in comparison to nearby countries, and really the rest of the world, is another aspect that tourists appreciate. Another advantage is the strict respect we have for conserving the environment and extending an ecological culture. Something, in my opinion, that also contributes to promoting tourism, is that the visitors can generally find in any Cuban city, private—not state-owned—property generally in good condition and economical prices, as well as an amazing cuisine network, very competitive in quality and price, which should only increase in the future.
I can´t forget to mention the unique Cuban heritage sites, in which a few have been declared by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites: Trinidad City, Valle de los Ingenios (Wits Valley) in the Sancti Spíritus province, Valle de Viñales (Vineyard Valley) in the Pinar del Río province, Old Havana and its structures, Cienfuegos and Camaguey historic centers, Alejandro de Humboldt National Park (between Guantánamo and Holguín provinces), just to name a few.
Of course, there are external factors that also positively contribute to the current and prospective growth of Cuba´s tourism industry: diversified airlines and the travel exceptions for North Americans recently authorized by Obama being some of them.
These aforementioned arguments may not appear in surveys that are applied to other national and foreign entities linked to the tourism industry, but I think they largely answered my Swedish friend about Cuba´s modest but steady growth. And maybe yours too. Cuba, which is already among the top nine American destinations, and which in 2010 was seventh place among the best islands in the world, according to magazine Condé Nast Traveller UK, is not all rosy though, much less in some complex and dynamic areas.
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