Once Forbidden, Cuba Attracts Brisk U.S. Business
by Robin Amster /U.S. tour operators are reporting brisk business to Cuba. They cite pent-up demand for a once-popular vacation destination that until recently was essentially off limits to Americans.
Figures released from the Cuban government’s National Statistics Office back up the experience of tour operators in the market. Just over 98,000 U.S. travelers visited the island nation in 2012, up 33% from 73,500 in 2011.
Those numbers don’t include an estimated 350,000 Cuban-Americans who visited last year.
“It’s 50 years of pent-up demand for a destination not available before,” said Tom Popper, president of Insight Cuba. “Burma is another example [of a country formerly off-limits to Americans], but it’s a 30-hour flight away.”
An easy trip
At a 45- to 60-minute flight from Miami, Cuba is a relatively easy trip. It is also a trip that millions of Americans made before the Kennedy administration instituted an embargo against Cuba in 1960.
American tourists can now visit Cuba legally, but only on people-to-people programs operated by tour firms licensed by the U.S. Office of Asset Control (OFAC). (See sidebar)
Part of Cuba’s current attraction is the allure of the forbidden, according to tour operators.
“Cuba is a place you weren’t supposed to go and that makes you all the more interested in going,” said Steve Cox, executive director of International Expeditions.
Tauck’s vice president of marketing Katharine Bonner agreed. “Americans don’t like to be told they can’t go someplace,” said Bonner. “Forbidden fruit is a lot more interesting.”
New, but familiar
“For Americans, Cuba is new and exciting and exotic,” said Patrick Gallagher, Collette Vacations’ product manager for Cuba and Central and South America.
“Some of our passengers remember going there in the ’50s or hearing stories from their parents or grandparents about going down there. It used to be such an important place to go on vacation,” Gallagher said.
“You can still see a show at the Tropicana or have a drink at La Florida in Havana, where Hemingway used to go,” he added.
Collette is seeing steady growth for its one Cuba program. In 2012 the company offered two itineraries. This year it reverted to one itinerary, “to be clearer and more concise in our offering,” Gallagher said.
Banner year
Insight’s Popper called business to Cuba “extraordinary,” with the number of clients up by 15% in 2012 over 2011.
A nonprofit organization, Insight is a veteran in the Cuba market; it has been operating people-to-people tours there since 2000. In 2003 it partnered with General Tours, which sells four of Insight’s six Cuba programs.
“We create and operate the tours, General Tours offers them to the trade,” said Popper.
Insight will operate the first departure of a new Vintage Cuba tour next month. The tour will feature towns most Americans haven’t visited, Popper said.
International Expeditions’ is experiencing its own “banner year” for Cuba – “far exceeding anything we expected for 2013,” according to Cox.
The tour operator offers one Cuba program, a comprehensive itinerary covering much of the country. For 2014 it will launch a shorter program focused more on art and culture.
Operational challenges
Tauck is “looking to diversify” its Cuba offering but for now will stick with one program, said Bonner. Cuba’s infrastructure isn’t “fabulous,” she explained.
“Cuba is a very operationally intense program to manage because of the infrastructure limitations,” agreed Gallagher.
Challenges include hotel capacity and confirming space, as well as power outages and unexpected closings at places of interest, he said.
“Cuba is a challenge; but it’s a challenge that’s really worth it,” Bonner said.
Unlike other Caribbean islands
What’s the experience of visiting Cuba like? “It doesn’t feel like a Caribbean island,” Bonner said. “It’s a country with a rich, fascinating history.”
Popper called the people-to-people trips “an emotional experience.”
“When I talk to travelers, it’s the interaction they have with local people that’s key,” he said. “We take that into everything we do [on our programs].”
Gallagher said that because of the cultural exchange, “the experience is phenomenal.”
“If you ask anyone who’s been, the experience they remember most is chatting with the locals in a town or village. You’re not just sitting on a motorcoach and seeing it all pass by.”
Bright future
Tour operators see tremendous growth potential for Cuba.
The 98,000 U.S. visitors cited by the Cuban government is “a blip on the tourist map,” Gallagher said. “Roughly 1 million Canadians visit Cuba a year.”
As more organizations get licenses to operate in Cuba, there will be increased access and greater awareness among U.S. travelers of Cuba as a destination, said Popper.
“Ninety-five percent of Americans still don’t realize they can go,” he said.
Next time: Advice for agents on selling Cuba.