Cuba is getting ready for mainstream American tourism

Cuba is getting ready for mainstream American tourism

According to travelagentcentral.com, Cuba has been a tourism giant in
the Caribbean for years, catering to mostly Europeans and Canadians, but
now is emerging as a leisure destination for Americans as well.

Cuba offers the best of the both worlds, the hustle and bustle of
Havana, the country's vibrant capital rich with nightlife and incredible
cuisine, and Varadero, a region stocked with some of the most
undeveloped beaches in the world. For Latin America specialists, think
Ambergris Caye in Belize.

Many agents and operators have seen the writing on the wall and have
also been legally selling Cuba already through the People-to-People
Initiative, which requires Americans to take part in various cultural
experiences in Cuba, essentially, as the name implies, putting them in
direct contact with the people of Cuba with hopes of learning about the
way of life in the country.

Although there are many loopholes to getting to Cuba legally, general
travel there is still technically illegal so getting there will have to
be a part of People-to-People packages, which are now being offered from
just about every major operator including Insight Cuba, National
Geographic Expeditions, Mayflower Tours, Apple Vacations, Journeys
International, Abercrombie & Kent and others.

Most People-to-People flights leave out of Miami. However, all the chips
are in place for mainstream air travel to Cuba, as JetBlue in July
officially became the first major U.S. carrier to fly from New York/JFK
to Havana. Cuba Travel Services Inc. is offering the weekly flight. It
was also announced in August that American Airlines and Cuba Travel
Services plan to operate the first charter flights between Los Angeles
and Havana later this year. (The cruise industry is also jumping on the
bandwagon. For a look at this aspect of Cuba tourism, stay tuned to
www.travelagentcentral.com.)

Cuba is trending because, to put it quite simply, people often want
"forbidden fruit," so naturally Americans have been pining to visit Cuba
for years. But besides being once off limits, Cuba offers a look at the
old Caribbean, including beaches with no high rises and affordable
cuisine — and classic U.S. automobiles.

Since experiential tourism isn't always for the first-time traveler, we
suggest pitching People-to-People tours to those who seek culture over a
beach or simply to the more seasoned Caribbean client. It may take a
year or two for Cuba's hospitality industry to learn how to accommodate
the American tourist. You can send experienced Caribbean travelers to
Cuba immediately after it opens, but make sure they have a level of
patience in dealing with some inevitable infrastructure and
language-barrier obstacles that are sure to arise in the first few years.

Source: travelagentcentral.com

Source: Cuba is getting ready for mainstream American tourism - The
Yucatan Times -
http://www.theyucatantimes.com/2015/09/cuba-is-getting-ready-for-mainstream-american-tourism/