Cuba’s Classic Americana May Be a Thing of the Past with Visitor Numbers Exploding Sarah Marsh - Independent UK
go to original May 11, 2017

Mighty Car Mods heads to Cuba for a special look into their unique car scene (Mighty Car Mods)

American visitors to Cuba could increase by seven times by 2025, according to a new report – putting the Caribbean island’s infrastructure under enormous strain and sparking fears for the future of the country as US investors move in.

The report, drawn up by the Boston Consulting Group, notes that Cuba represents a “huge” but challenging opportunity for US cruise, airline and hotel companies as American visitors continue to spiral.

As many as 2 million Americans could visit in the future – up from 285,000 last year, excluding Cuban Americans – the BCG study published on Wednesday estimated.

Given tourism infrastructure is already creaking, that means there are business opportunities aplenty but US companies must learn to navigate a centrally-planned economy with its quirks.

...The Cuban government aims to double hotel capacity by 2030 through partnerships with foreign companies, it pointed out. So far, Starwood is the only US hotel company operating in Cuba.

Instilling a hospitality mindset in tourism workers who were mostly state employees, even at US-owned companies, on low wages could be challenging, it noted.

Poor service sat particularly badly when rooms were “extremely expensive for the region”.

Read the rest at Independent UK

Related: Everything You Need to Know About How to Travel to Cuba (GQ)

Related: Cuba’s Crazy Used-Car Market: Why It Behaves Like the Prime-Property Market (The Economist)

Related: This Luxury Mall in Havana Is the Perfect Monument to Cuba’s Confusing Tourism Industry (Slate)

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