Cuba's Tourism Boom

[Corylax18]

Quick article below from Granma. 11.7% increase YOY is nothing to shake a stick at. Thats on top of a few years of healthy growth previously. One interesting tidbit in this article, that I have seen in a few places now, is that the government is turning over the development and management of Jose Marti Airport to a couple of French firms. Hopefully this signals improvement in the arrival departures process!

I thought it funny that 70% of the available rooms in Cuba are 4 or 5 star rated. Haha, maybe base on their original 1950s standards. 

http://en.granma.cu/tourism/2016-08-24/cubas-tourist-boom-continues

[El Presidente]

A little more information. 

 

By Marc Frank and Jeffrey Dastin

HAVANA/NEW YORK (Reuters) - An expected explosion in U.S. tourism to Cuba will likely take years to materialize even after U.S. airlines resume commercial flights to the Caribbean island this week for the first time since 1961, industry officials said.

JetBlue Airways Corp (NASDAQ: JBLU) will pilot its historic flight from Florida to the Cuban city of Santa Clara on Wednesday, the latest step in normalizing relations that earlier this year included a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama and the first U.S. cruise to the island in decades.

The planes may some day be filled with U.S. beach-goers, looking for an economical Caribbean break at resorts favored by Canadians and Europeans on the sandy keys north of Santa Clara.

But for now, U.S. law and constraints on Cuba's tourism infrastructure will act as brakes on increasing demand, experts said.

Congress has yet to lift a trade embargo that prohibits U.S. citizens from visiting Cuba as tourists. The Obama administration has approved 12 categories of exceptions to the ban ranging from cultural, religious and educational travel to business and visiting family.

That means JetBlue's initial flights will mainly carry Cuban-Americans visiting relatives or other U.S. citizens interested in seeing the Che Guevara Mausoleum and other cultural sites.

Eventually, up to 25 flights a day by various carriers will connect the United States and the Cuban provinces, with another 20 to Havana, under an agreement reached by the two Cold War foes as part of a gradual détente begun in December 2014.

Services on Silver Airways and American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ: AAL) from the Miami area to other outlying provinces are the next to start, in September.

While the direct flights could carry more than a million U.S. residents to Cuba annually, according to John Kavulich, head of the New York-based U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council Inc, he and other experts believe that mark will not be reached for several years.

In the beginning, the new routes are expected to absorb customers from the average of 17 charter flights that Cuba's government says have arrived from the United States daily for several years.

"The fares that have come out so far, announced by American and JetBlue, have been super competitive," said Bob Guild, vice president at Marazul Charters Inc. "I don't have any question that it's going to shrink," he said of the charter services. Marazul, one of the largest charter companies operating to Cuba, plans to scale back services to provinces this fall but continue with its Havana flights while commercial airlines await approval, Guild said.

HOTEL ROOMS FULL

There is already a boom in visits to Cuba from the United States. Some 300,000 Cubans living in the United States now travel home annually. In 2015, the Cuban government reported 161,233 Americans visited, compared to 91,254 in 2014, and arrivals through June nearly doubled over the same period last year, a trend that the dawn of commercial flights can only further.

"The fact that travelers can book flights directly online not only streamlines that process and makes it more affordable, it adds a feeling of legality," said Collin Laverty of Cuban Educational Travel.

But another barrier to increased U.S. travel is that Cuba's hotels, bed and breakfasts, transportation services and amenities are already stretched to the limit, with a record 3.5 million foreign arrivals last year. Higher hotel prices, pegged to the U.S. dollar, might push out some travelers from Europe and Canada, creating more space for Americans, said Emilio Morales, CEO of Miami-based Havana Consulting Group. Private bed and breakfasts would absorb what they could of increased demand, he said.

Over time, airlines are betting travel restrictions will be further relaxed and want to get their foot in the door before Obama leaves office next year.

"While all of the flights are unlikely to operate at capacity, the airlines want to plant their respective flags," Kavulich said.

(Reporting by Marc Frank; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

[Nino]

And some more on the effect of tourism to Cuba's economy ... from http://thecubaneconomy.com/articles/2016/08/more-bad-news-for-new-ideas-in-cuba-eusebio-leal-sidelined/

Habaguanex, the state company doing a good job renovating old Havana and running hotels and restaurants has been taken over by the military administration group GAESA running an estimated 80% of the Cuban economy ...

 

MORE BAD NEWS FOR NEW IDEAS IN CUBA: EUSEBIO LEAL SIDELINED

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Arch Ritter

BY PAUL HARE

In Cuba Today, August 29, 2016

 

Havana historian Eusebio Leal escorts U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry around Old Havana during a tour of the city last year. Ismael Francisco AP

Very few without Castro in their name have survived in the leadership of the Cuban Revolution as long as Eusebio Leal. And he didn’t do it by the conventional means of silence and obedience. He brought loyalty but also ideas to the Castros. Now the military-run business empire has asserted itself in Old Havana as elsewhere and Leal appears to have been outmaneuvered.

Uniquely among Cuban leaders Leal has cared about other things beyond preserving the Castro Revolution. He has been as fascinated by Cuba’s past as its future. He has received numerous overseas cultural awards but his stature in Cuba has been that he thought differently.

In 2002 the British embassy in Havana staged a two-month-long series of events to commemorate 100 years of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United Kingdom. We were told it was the largest such festival by an overseas country ever held in Cuba. Leal was our indispensable ally for venues, organization, contacts and vision. At times the Revolution’s agenda surfaced and he negotiated hard. But his heart was in the history of both our countries. Leal even created a garden in Old Havana in memory of Princess Diana. And as a historian he loved the story of the British invasion of Havana in 1762.

The military conglomerate GAESA will now assume business control over Leal’s beloved Old Havana project. This has been a labor of love and ingenuity. But it has also depended on his versatile role at the heart of revolutionary politics. He proved a man of taste, of determination but also shone as a contemporary entrepreneur in a Cuba which despises individualism.

His versatility served him well. A teenager at the time of the Revolution, he chose to prove that innovation and a love of past cultures and elegance could coexist with the new era. He admired Fidel, a fellow intellectual, and — not accidentally — he was chosen by the official Cuban media to eulogize his old friend again on his 90th birthday. Typically, the Revolution was extracting a declaration of loyalty from a man who was feeling pretty disgruntled.

Times are changing in Cuba and the undermining of Leal’s control has wider implications.

Times are changing in Cuba and the undermining of Leal’s control has wider implications. He may not be a household name outside Cuba and he may be in failing health. But his project showed he knew the Castros would never allow private sector growth to restore the largest area of Spanish colonial architecture in the Western Hemisphere.

His only chance was to harness funds from tourist visitors and foreign investors. There is still much to do but the current rush of tourists to Cuba owes much to achievement.

Leal’s fate is nothing new. Set in the 57-year context of the Cuban Revolution, many able and loyal leaders have been discarded. Felipe Pérez Roque, Carlos Lage and Roberto Robaina are recent examples. But Leal had survived and appeared to be growing in stature with Raúl. His walking tour of Old Havana with Obama received worldwide publicity.

Leal’s bonding with the U.S. president may have irked the Castros. The disintegration of Venezuela and loss of subsidies under Nicolás Maduro gave the military companies the opening they needed to swoop for Old Havana. Now, effectively Raúl Castro’s son-in-law will rule the roost and U.S.-operated cruise ships will soon be occupying many berths in the Old Havana harbor.

But perhaps the saddest lesson from Leal’s marginalization is the signal it sends to Cuban innovators and foreign investors. The restoration of the Revolution is still more important than the architectural jewels of past eras. Almost at the same time as Leal’s demise, a far less visionary but unquestioning loyalist, Ricardo Cabrisas, was promoted. These are indeed depressing times for Cubans hoping for some new ideas and less of the same.

Dr. Eusebio Leal Spengler, Historiador de La Habana

Paul W. Hare is a former British ambassador to Cuba and currently senior lecturer at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University

 

 

[oakalley]

Cuba is definitely on my bucket list of places to visit before I die. I may never get there, but I hope to soon. There are several things that are holding me back, probably some  of the same reasons that many non Cuban-Americans are holding back.

My primary reason at this time is the lack of freedom to move about, go where I want to go and see what I want to see. Because of the restrictions that are now in place that limit folks to the 12 areas that constitute a legal visit, US citizens are not supposed to be going to Cuba to have a "Beach vacation" like going to Florida. I would like to have the opportunity to dive some of Cuba's pristine reefs before they are overrun by tourists. I would like to visit tobacco farms and talk to the growers about their crops and how they grow such wonderful tobacco. I would like to spend time sightseeing and photographing at my leisure, not in a tour group that travels at the pace of the tour guide, not mine. I would like to bring back three or four boxes of Cuban cigars legally, even if I had to pay duty on the value above the US limit for duty free.

I don't know if Cuba will be a true destination for me in my lifetime. they have come a long, long way in a short time, but they still have a ways to go. What they are calling 4-5 star hotels are not even close. They remind me of hotels in Ukraine that I stayed in 10-12 years ago. A 4 star in Kiev was  probably comparable to a Motel 6 back then. Cuba lacks the basic infrastructure that tourists from the USA demand. Clean, up to date rooms, restaurants with good food and lots of choices, many people who speak English, because 99.9% of Americans cannot speak Spanish. I would suspect that were Cuba opened up to unrestrained tourism, lots of folks visiting would come back sorely disappointed. Americans go to Europe, and gripe about the food, the service, the hotel rooms, the people, prices, you name it. Just think what those same people would say about Cuba!

[LGC]

I'd love to go, but I don't know when it will happen for me. Without the cigars, I doubt Cuba would have any draw for me. I'm not connected in the cigar industry, nor do I have any Cuban ties. Unless it's a ridiculously cheap vacation, I would have a hard time dealing with the infrastructure or lack of resorts. In addition, when I go on vacation, I live to eat. I hear the food is getting better, but there has to be cuisine that I can't get at home, or cook myself.

[Corylax18]

You know things are bad when a farmer can earn more growing cucumbers or tomatoes than the country's flagship, staple crop. 

There is no legal reason for a US citizen not to go at this point. "Spreading Democracy" is enough under person to person. The state department and current administration want people travelling to Cuba. Obama is doing all he can to begin the spread of democracy in Cuba. What better way than Cuban citizens hearing first the glories of democracy?

Learning spanish is relatively easy for an english speaker. Both languages are latin based. 

[...]

1 hour ago, Corylax18 said:

Learning spanish is relatively easy for an english speaker. Both languages are latin based. 

Where exactly did you learn english was latin based? New to me...

[RijkdeGooier]

English is part of the Germanic group of languages German, dutch and English), whereas Spanish is part of the Latin family (Latin, Spanish, Italian, Portugese, Romainan and French). While there is substantial overlap especially from Latin into Germanic this is the effect of Roman and French cultural influences over the centuries, not because they share the same language family or structure.

[Saxman]

I'm a Cuban born who is going back this December for the first time in 48 years. In my case since I'm going under the family visit clause, I'll be able to come and go as I please, and will stay with my family.

I don't want to just experience Cuba as a tourist, but I do want to see how living there is today for the average citizen.

Of course I'll also be exploring my cultural rules by visiting Tabaco farms and enjoying as many CC as I can in ten days.

I'll be putting together several videos when I get back that I'll share here.

I do believe that in five years the travel experience to Cuba won't be the same as now. That's why I picked this year to finally go.


Saxman

[oliverdst]

14 hours ago, oakalley said:

Cuba is definitely on my bucket list of places to visit before I die. I may never get there, but I hope to soon. There are several things that are holding me back, probably some  of the same reasons that many non Cuban-Americans are holding back.

My primary reason at this time is the lack of freedom to move about, go where I want to go and see what I want to see. Because of the restrictions that are now in place that limit folks to the 12 areas that constitute a legal visit, US citizens are not supposed to be going to Cuba to have a "Beach vacation" like going to Florida. I would like to have the opportunity to dive some of Cuba's pristine reefs before they are overrun by tourists. I would like to visit tobacco farms and talk to the growers about their crops and how they grow such wonderful tobacco. I would like to spend time sightseeing and photographing at my leisure, not in a tour group that travels at the pace of the tour guide, not mine. I would like to bring back three or four boxes of Cuban cigars legally, even if I had to pay duty on the value above the US limit for duty free.

I don't know if Cuba will be a true destination for me in my lifetime. they have come a long, long way in a short time, but they still have a ways to go. What they are calling 4-5 star hotels are not even close. They remind me of hotels in Ukraine that I stayed in 10-12 years ago. A 4 star in Kiev was  probably comparable to a Motel 6 back then. Cuba lacks the basic infrastructure that tourists from the USA demand. Clean, up to date rooms, restaurants with good food and lots of choices, many people who speak English, because 99.9% of Americans cannot speak Spanish. I would suspect that were Cuba opened up to unrestrained tourism, lots of folks visiting would come back sorely disappointed. Americans go to Europe, and gripe about the food, the service, the hotel rooms, the people, prices, you name it. Just think what those same people would say about Cuba!

Once I read that something like 20-30% North-americans are hispanics or related to hispanics. Are you sure about the 99.9%?

[RijkdeGooier]

17 minutes ago, oliverdst said:

Once I read that something like 20-30% North-americans are hispanics or related to hispanics. Are you sure about the 99.9%?

That would be the Donald Trump definition

[oliverdst]

21 minutes ago, RijkdeGooier said:

That would be the Donald Trump definition

I didnt read in Wikipedia bot for now I think it's enough as a source.

 

The Spanish language is the second most spoken language in the United States of America. There are 45 million Hispanophones who speak Spanish as a first or second language in the United States,^[1] as well as six million Spanish language students,^[2] making the United States the second-largest Hispanophone country in the world after Mexico. Spanish is the Romance language and the Indo-European language with the largest number of native speakers in the world.^[3] Roughly half of all American Spanish-speakers also speak English "very well" based on self-assessments in the U.S. Census.^[4]

A better source:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/29/us-second-biggest-spanish-speaking-country

US now has more Spanish speakers than Spain – only Mexico has more

• US has 41 million native speakers plus 11 million who are bilingual
• New Mexico, California, Texas and Arizona have highest concentrations

The United States is now the world’s second largest Spanish-speaking country after Mexico, according to a new study published by the prestigious Instituto Cervantes.

The report says there are 41 million native Spanish speakers in the US plus a further 11.6 million who are bilingual, mainly the children of Spanish-speaking immigrants. This puts the US ahead of Colombia (48 million) and Spain (46 million) and second only to Mexico (121 million).

Among the sources cited in the report is the US Census Office which estimates that the US will have 138 million Spanish speakers by 2050, making it the biggest Spanish-speaking nation on Earth, with Spanish the mother tongue of almost a third of its citizens.

By state the highest concentration is in the former Spanish colonies of the south and south-west, with New Mexico top at 47%, followed by California and Texas (both 38%) and Arizona (30%). Some 18% of New Yorkers speak Spanish while only 1.3% of West Virginians do. Perhaps surprisingly, more than 6% of Alaskans are Spanish speakers.

The report, El español, una lengua viva – Spanish, a living language – estimates that there are 559 million Spanish speakers worldwide, a figure that includes 470 million native speakers and those with some command of the language.

 

 

 

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The Instituto Cervantes was established in 1991 to promote the Spanish language abroad and last year had more than 200,000 students registered on its courses. It estimates that 21 million people are currently studying Spanish and here, too, the US leads with 7.8 million learning the language, followed by Brazil and France.

The report adds that two-thirds of Spanish-linked GDP is generated in two areas: North America (US, Canada and Mexico) and the European Union.

Between them they account for 78% while Latin America only accounts for 22%. It calculates that altogether Spanish speakers contribute 9.2% of the world’s GDP.

The Index of Human Development ranks Spanish as the second most important language on earth, behind English but ahead of Mandarin. It is also the third most widely used language on the internet, although less than 8% of internet traffic is in Spanish. The report says that Spanish is the second most used language on Twitter in London and New York. It also comes second on Facebook, a long way behind English though well ahead of Portuguese, Facebook’s third language.

 

[oliverdst]

34 minutes ago, RijkdeGooier said:

That would be the Donald Trump definition

But lets try not to make this a us politics thread otherwise... you know...

[RijkdeGooier]

Hahahaaha

 

i was indeed doubtful about posting that?