Cuba Prepares For The Future

There are growing indications that Cuba may be on the verge of hosting our next door neighbours en masse, reports staff writer, Ian Stalker in this week’s digital edition of Canadian Travel Press.

The US and Cuban governments are continuing to work toward normalizing relations after more than half a century of outright hostility and there’s growing international speculation about the communist nation’s future, with March seeing both Newsweek and Time magazines having simultaneous cover stories about possible changes in store for Cuba.

One of those changes could be a large influx of American tourists, generating a windfall for an island where tourism accounts for a huge part of the economy and possibly a hefty jump in hotel prices if demand for hotel rooms soars.

“It is anticipated that if the embargo is lifted, there would be significant interest from the US market to travel to Cuba,” says Janine Chapman, Sunwing’s vice-president of marketing. “The increasing demand from this new source market could impact Canadian vacationers in the form of reduced availability [of hotel rooms], particularly in the last-minute market.”

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