Cuba aims to improve tourism industry after pandemic travel slow down
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.