Agree or disagree: Travel to Cuba Now Before it Becomes a Tourist Trap

[El Presidente]

I have seen a lot of articles like this one below and have heard a lot of commentary along the same lines.

Travel to Cuba Now Before it Becomes a Tourist Trap

Based on my discussions with mates locally and from around the world. Based on discussion here on the forum, the above title seems to be the general consensus.

I have to say that personally I see a "glass half full" side.

Change is constant. Anyone who has visited Cuba over many years knows that subtle and not so subtle changes reveal themselves trip after trip. Tourism has always been a big part of the Cuban economy. There are times that it is not easy to have a relaxing cigar at any of the divans due to the number of people clamoring within. Hotel service in the main is poor. Hotel food is generally bog average. Arranging any Cuba internal travel or events requires a skillful mix of the adventurer and artful charlatan. Let there be no illusion, many of the great trips that I have been on, many of the fun times we have fallen into or engineered have required the "bending" of laws (ridiculous ones) and the risking of personal freedoms for Cuban friends.

If you are of a certain mindset....you have a ball...a magnificent time. If you are a little more conservative then it can be one hell of a confusing and frustrating place.

So (again through my rose coloured glasses) I see the benefits of the eventual opening up to US tourism as the following. I look forward to them.

• Investment in hotels. Some serious world class hotels/resorts.
• Professional tourist infrastructure. Imagine booking fishing/diving/motorcycle tours where everything runs smoothly.
• More private restaurants (paladars), great hotel restaurants.
• Toilet paper actually in bathrooms!
• More LCDH throughout the country
• Privately owned cigar divans. Imagine a Hamlet Divan/FOH Divan
• The ability to purchase fresh produce in a serviced apartment.
• Proper WIFI/telecomunications allowing you to really stay in touch/engage with family and business. .
• More Casa Particulares. Cuba is already the greatest B&B provider on the planet. Such a fantastic way of engaging with locals.
• More privately owned bars and nightclubs.
• More art/book/cultural markets.

I have only scratched the surface but the above means employment and opportunity. A brighter future for friends.

To me the greatest threat to Cuba is not a "US tourist invasion" but rather a Cuban government that is incapable of managing it via proper planning. A government who doesn't share the spoils via building an incremental living wage for all Cubans. A Government who looks after the regions and not just allows Havana and the tourist meccas to thrive.

I certainly don't want to see McDonalds/KFC/Starbucks in the historical Havana Vieja. I don't have a problem with them in Nuevo Vedado or elsewhere. Simple town planning and ordinance.

Kids need jobs and many of us in our teens have cleaned a grill when starting out. It didn't kill us and taught many a good lesson.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out. However I wouldn't be all that concerned of the impending "tourist trap" warnings that I read almost daily. There will be some no doubt. There are in every country and they are in there in Cuba today. Cohiba Sublimes for 75 CUC anyone? Daiquiri at the Floridita?

[helix]

Well that is certainly uplifting Prez, the kind of positive attitude and insight I have come to expect from you. However "US tourist invasion"? Maybe a Chinese Invasion first?

[jimsta10]

Hi Rob,

Interesting read. a perfect example of this would be Vietnam post conflict. Was a nightmare to go back, infrastructure was terrible, hotels were minimal, unclean, unsafe and all of the above. 40 odd years later, we have something called capitalism....BOOM...and all of a sudden its now one of the prime tourist attractions in South East Asia...

Ok that said, Vietnam isn't a power house like its neighboring countries (Singapore or Malaysia)...but the country has gone leaps and bounds due to capitalism that allowed private enterprises and venture capitalists to setup shop.

BTW, its quiet hard to avoid KFC and McDonald's polluting a country......politics drove Vietnam to have its first chain of McDonalds a couple of years back.....was a bit of a boom, but locals still think its a fad.....(which is good).....

Besides tourism growth has seen the expansion of textiles, manufacturing and software development (IT)...I recall clearly when dialup internet was the fastest you can get (12-15 years ago)....now most homes have fibre...and free internet at nearly every corner cafe. a massive jump with infrastructure. and their internet is faster and cheaper that what we have in Oz! (another topic for debate)..

That said Cuba would need to diversify its economics so that they dont have to rely on 1-2 sources of income.

I think it will be a while yet for the changes, especially infrastructure changes, so I'm not too worried....Go later for me......

[MrGTO]

Yes and No.

Definitely go before it becomes a "tourist trap."

But how you define that is the rub.

Go before it becomes SO comfortable that the (ahem, American) tourists stop complaining about how hard it is to go there, to stay there, to use the Internet, to get around, how dirty it is, how run-down it is, how they can't use their Diner's Club card, how nobody speaks English, how Disney hasn't set up a park there for their kids yet...

But before that? Any time. I can't wait to go. I don't mind some sawdust, I like trying out my broken Spanish, and if it takes 60 years of Communist neglect to get me off my phone for a week, so be it!

I use to work in the ski industry(Lake Tahoe) and I have to say that American tourists were not the biggest ******* tourist I've ever met.....

Anyway...

I wish my wife and I could go while it is still like it is now, but unfortunately kids and time will not allow a trip in the near future. I say that because I lived in Lake Tahoe before it was what it is today and it is not the same place.

[kuma]

Coupled with the fact that we (USers) will be able to go to Cuba (in my cade 3-4 hour flight) I can't wait

to go through a master case looking for stellar smokes when they

get to the states.. Everything I know about Habanos I've learned

here or from the Pres. and his merry bunch of helpers!

[kuma]

maybe in the begining but once the dust settles thing will be like Europe or a form of that!

can't wait......

[archosaur]

As one who has never been, from a purely selfish perspective I am in the 'agree' camp...would like to get a snapshot of the place as it stands.

[bigfunkyg]

Americans can freely travel to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica, and almost all other Caribbean islands. I don't see a Walmart and MacDonalds on every corner of those countries. I don't see it becoming a tourist trap at all.

[Lotusguy]

It's already a tourist trap for Canadians

[Ryan]

I'd say Cuba would love to go the Vietnamese model rather than the Chinese.

One party system, no sanctions/embargo, lots of tourism, foreign trade and investment but no Tiananmen Square.

As for McDonalds/Starbucks. Why not? Tourists don't have to go in. As Rob says and I've said before, signage and shopfronts can restricted with planning ordinances.

Old Havana is a Unesco heritage site, they probably wouldn't want to lose that.

Centro Havana could take 20 McDonalds and no one would notice except the locals who get jobs and investment in their area.

Foreign restaurants and businesses are interested in occupying buildings that have reliable power, water, sewage and structural integrity. They, unlike the locals, would be in a position to do something about it.

My main concern is what changes might do to the "social fabric" there. A lot of people will make a lot of money. Still more people will make some money.

Lots, especially those in less touristy rural areas will be left behind. That's millions of people, probably more than 50% of the population. An existing restriction is that Cubans can't just move to Havana if they feel like it or if there's work there. A permit is required for a Cuban to move to Havana.

There is already a social gap in Cuba, the growth of the Farandula and the restaurants and nightclubs in Havana that cater to them is the main difference I've seen in the short time since I started going to Cuba. I bumped into Gordon Mott at a do two years ago and he asked me what changes I had seen since the year before, he hadn't even heard of the term Farandula at that point.

That gap will only get wider and that is what might make Cuba more like everywhere else.

I know crime is kept low at least partially because of the police presence and a harsh justice system and I'm not praising that.

However the income gap, in a country where most of the police force and officialdom "accepts gifts", will mean crime is something only poor people can commit.

One of the things that I love about Cuba, I know lots of people feel this way, is how generous and warm the locals are. I know many think this is because they're all trying to sell something, but it's not. They are a genuinely friendly people.

I'd hate to see that go away, or a rise in homelessness (when homes suddenly have value) or a rise in crime (when crime mainly affects the poor, those who can least afford to do anything about it).

That, not seeing a Starbucks or a McDonalds, is what will make Cuba feel like everywhere else.

[Geauxj]

Americans can freely travel to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica, and almost all other Caribbean islands. I don't see a Walmart and MacDonalds on every corner of those countries. I don't see it becoming a tourist trap at all.

I fear, eventually, my interest in travel there would be counteracted by the prospect of having to deal with a young "Spring Break" kind of clientele invading the island. I think the proximity to south Florida and the allure of going somewhere new and previously forbidden will inevitably attract this kind of crowd.

Not being familiar with Cuba at all, I have no idea if this type of concern is even rational, but I know in the past when I was a little younger and my tastes and interests were changing trips to certain areas of the Bahamas and Mexico felt tedious and unenjoyable.

[Habana Mike]

Yes, my goal was to visit prior to the blockade lifting. Got to do that, recommended.

Plan to visit at least a couple more times.

Will be interesting to see what evolves and transpires.

[moryc]

I have travelled to Cuba total of 5 times to date. Love and I wish it would stay the way it is right now. Its not corrupted by corporate America. Its so untouched, propably one of the few places like that that left on earth. I already see changes between now and the first time going there.

[Fosgate]

Well, My thought is go now and again later to decide for yourself which was better. Netflix, Google, Jetblue, and Carnival are some of the first companies to expand into the country. I am positive it will not be long before companies start eyeing their cheap labor force just as they did with China. China is quickly experiencing an increase in it's labor cost as well as neighboring India. Personally if I were looking for ways to keep costs low for a company there are two countries to consider to reduce the cost of labor. The Philippines, which is very American friendly, and Cuba. Cuba provided you can get decent utilities provided (Power, water, sewer gas etc) to slap a building up and bring in equipment. One thing Cuba would also have for advantage is distance to the U.S. mainland vs China to keep overall costs down. If Cuba can overcome the hesitation of companies fear in the back of their mind of how many were nationalized once before, I think they would quickly jump on board.

With that said, I think about 5 years is what it will take before we start seeing the face of Cuba today to really see change.

[Benzopyrene]

Its already changed a ton since my first trip 7 years ago.....sooner is always better than later.

[jerryr]

Earlier this year we hurriedly planned a trip we have been putting off for several years as it was announced that the embargo was going to be lifted and we wanted to see Cuba before the US invason changes the country beyond recognition, Not that change is a bad thing provided Cuba doesn't end up like cancun and most of the Yucatan peninsula, a mass of all inclusive resorts that obliterate the local culture and character. Having said that I'd like to go back in 5 years or so to see the changes in the hope that Cuba remains essentially Cuban in nature.

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[Fosgate]

Earlier this year we hurriedly planned a trip we have been putting off for several years as it was announced that the embargo was going to be lifted and we wanted to see Cuba before the US invason changes the country beyond recognition, Not that change is a bad thing provided Cuba doesn't end up like cancun and most of the Yucatan peninsula, a mass of all inclusive resorts that obliterate the local culture and character. Having said that I'd like to go back in 5 years or so to see the changes in the hope that Cuba remains essentially Cuban in nature.

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Exactly. I would hate to see it become like Cancun where it is just a "Little America" outside U.S. boarders loaded with the "Ugly American" stereotypical tourists and backpackers.

[Colt45]

Hasn't it been a "tourist trap" for years? If something like going out on a boat, or spending time at a hotel, etc is reserved for visitors only, is that not already catering to tourists?

If I take a pleasure trip to somewhere I'm not from, I'm a tourist. I've never been to Cuba, but I guess wishing it to stay a certain way would be somewhat selfish. I'm all for letting Cubans decide for themselves - for better or worse.