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Cuba!

Submitted by Andrew Nehaul A tsunami of concern must have gone through the Caribbean tourism community yesterday with the announcement by President Obama that he was reestablishing diplomatic ties with Cuba and would open up travel by all Americans to that country. After years of closure for American tourists, this Caribbean nation will now welcome…

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Submitted by Andrew Nehaul

A tsunami of concern must have gone through the Caribbean tourism community yesterday with the announcement by President Obama that he was reestablishing diplomatic ties with Cuba and would open up travel by all Americans to that country. After years of closure for American tourists, this Caribbean nation will now welcome Yankees again. With many airports that can take wide body aircraft besides Havanna and Varadero you will shorty see more hotel development in areas like Caya Coco and others with great beaches  and little infrastructure. Tourism to Vinales, Trinidad, Cienfuegos, Caya Largo etc will make these sleepy villages and towns will shortly be milestones on Trip Advisor.

What does this mean for other Caribbean islands? Concern! And a more greater need to market their destinations in the USA. The islands like Barbados that still have not found success with social media and digital marketing will be left behind.

The BTA is still “spinning top in mud”. We need professional people put in place that can direct, train and motivate staff and have the knowledge and experience to know how to get the best buy for the budget buck. Moreover, these factors along with the ability to treat airline execs in an extemporary fashion and to encourage big spenders to our island will be a step towards true success.

The new Director of Tourism is familiar with the US market and in particular knows about the money spent by Will Smith, Samuel Jackson and others who on several occasions brought their friends to Bermuda for 4 days to play golf. I hope the new board gives Billy Griffith the latitude to spread his wings and do what he does best.

103 responses to “Cuba!”

  1. lawson Avatar
    lawson

    But why not Cuba Hants …. I stayed in Varedero a couple of years ago it was great ..cheap nice hotel beautiful ocean no real difference just the cost. You must admit there is more to see there …can you imagine if Havana buildings are done up …a lot of history.I am not saying Barbados wont have its followers like the sex pistols have but a mass migration of visitors because of americanization I am skeptical

  2. Boy Blue Avatar
    Boy Blue

    But isn’t that typical? My father and many others went to Cuba in the 1940’s looking for work. Almost 75 years later, on the eve of Cuba opening its borders, their grand sons and great grandsons with all of their fancy qualifications are lining up and creeping out of the wood pile looking for jobs in Cuba. I can’t recall hearing anyone mention setting up business there.

  3. Anthony Avatar
    Anthony

    8 Things We’re Going to Do as Soon as We’re Able to Go to Cuba

    https://www.yahoo.com/travel/cuba-what-to-do-where-to-go-105506059707.html?hp=1

  4. Exclaimer Avatar
    Exclaimer

    Firstly, I would like to say that any country that resists the hegemony of the USA, and her evil capitalist system will always be a friend of mine. No country has stood up more to the USA than our beloved Cuba, under the tutelage of the incomparable and charismatic numero uno: Fidel Castro.

    There is too much hyperbole been expressed on this post with regard to the significance of the supposed thawing in the relationship between the USA and Cuba? Why would a proud country with her unyielding defiance against the school boy bully of fifty years embrace the free market economy doctrine as prescribed by the American snake? This will never be allowed to happen.

    We Barbadians are a negative breed. Never have I read such defeatist talk from the BU contributors. It would appear that some contributors believe that a resurrected Cuba could spell the destruction for the rest of the Caribbean. Indeed, some of us have made unfavourable comparisons between Cuba and her neighbours; and their message is clear: no point competing with Cuba as everything is better over there.

    @ Island gal246 – you’ve disappointed me – since when have you become a tourist ambassador for Cuba?

    Oh yee who have little faith.

  5. SITH Avatar
    SITH

    Cuba has had a strong tourist market attracting many visitors from Europe and North America including the USA for many years. Many USA tourists to Cuba departed from Canada. US tourists on arrival had their US passports reviewed but they were never stamped. The airport at Varadero even flew, and likely still does, the US flag. The whole of Varadero was set up as US$ zone. There are some magnificent hotels there. There will be some positive effects for Cuba in places like Havana because of its closeness to the USA (90 miles). However, one has to look at the weather. January and February can be chilly by Caribbean standards. One never has to check the weather forecast in Barbados.

  6. Exclaimer Avatar
    Exclaimer

    A chap under the moniker “Damain” made the statement below:

    @ Damian December 18, 2014 at 7:03 AM
    “What does the average Bajan think about tourism? He certainly does not gain from it, yet is the main attraction.”

    Never has so much common sense been spoken. This is in contrast to the chap who submitted this post (the Guyanese Andrew Nehaul) who appears to promoting an elitist form of tourism. We already have this business model in Barbados; and it does not work!

  7. Margaret Harris Avatar
    Margaret Harris

    @ David
    You asked about culture:
    To the extent that culture is never static, and is always in a state of flux, the Cuban culture will, of necessity, change. If we are speaking about how the economic culture is likely to shift then that is already evident by the adjustments Cuba is already making and will make in future.

    Cuba’s experience has only served to confirm that where there is economic deprivation, a particular social culture develops around how best to survive.

    To that extent, then Cuban culture has certainly already undergone many changes and shifts within the last 50 years. It has also developed a humanitarian culture of giving and sharing. It has developed a festival culture that supports the tourism infrastructure. It has a mixed economy with state run private sector enterprises.

    Remittances, small business ventures, the black market etc, have allowed some people to acquire more money, prestige and social standing than others. Farmers markets were locked down in the past because of what was seen as a culture of money and greed. So market pragmatism has already been developing in Cuba alongside a political culture that is resistant to the larger external global culture.

    There is no doubt in my mind that there will be a mad scramble inside and outside the country to capitalize on opportunities to earn money and make profit. The country needs to find a way to feed its people – that is the bottom line. It cannot continue as before and survive. That is the problem.

    So I’ve asked myself what is Cuba going to and what it is going back to? It will with the help of China and the US again gradually subscribe to the pragmatic market policies, which will have enormous impacts on the overall culture as it will on poverty indicators. China knows this only too well.

    France famously resisted American culture for some time under French leader Charles De Gaulle but later Macdonalised under the new neoliberal order. A slightly different discussion but worth mentioning.

    Now France has Disney and MacDonald’s. So MacDonald’s is in decline according to news reports last week…but what has it meant for the French culture. What will a Disney or MacDonaldisation mean for the Cuban culture? The reality is Cuba hasn’t reached that stage yet and I hope it never will as I hoped Macdonalds would’ve never land in Barbados.

    But the Guatemalans had a solution for such intrusions on national cultures. In Guatemala, what they have done at Wendy’s for example is to cook with all local foods: cassava, potatoes etc.

    Re: culture and language: Cuba’s advantage over the English speaking Caribbean is that it is Spanish-speaking. Had it been up to the US it would have been annexed long ago along with Puerto Rico.

    The Cubans value their history and traditions; they hold onto it with pride. They know who they are. The average citizen can tell you who the national heroes are, the poets, the writers, who invented what and possibly where and how they died. Cubans know their position in the world. For better or for worst they are Cubans and they stick together like glue. At the end of the day they know that it is Cuba that matters.

    As for festivals and culture industries, you have to take a look at these Youtube links to form your own judgement. Do note the Chinese horn in the first!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVB4eh348tc

  8. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    One thing also worth considering is that there was speculation since Raul took the ‘lead’, that this was on the cards.

    For the Cuban leadership, for the ‘Revolution’, it is actually an elegant was of transitioning now, rather than after the brothers go.

    This way, it helps the view that the transition was a choice, rather than an immediate change after the brothers go, which would happen anyway.

    As such, it gives, for the Cuban leadership, an ‘out’, that their last 50 years was for a purpose, for a long standing goal which has been achieved, rather than a stage which was immediately eliminated after they go.

    A tangential point, but important for purposes of history and pride.

  9. David Avatar
    David

    What will appease the anti Cuba brayers is if Raul is able to bring the Opposition players to the table. It would effectively snuff out the political rhetoric emanating from Florida.

  10. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    @Margaret Harris,

    Interesting perspective. As for the second video, you should not have shown that, at about 3.56 all the dancing girls, Bush Tea just gone and buy a ticket to Cuba, to see what he can do there… Poor Island Gal l goin get leff out.

    Ha.

  11. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    David, it is actually ironic and ridiculous the opposition to this form those Cuban ‘exiles?’.

    You would think they would be cheering on the streets. This is a clear move to bring Cuba into the Western fold.

    This would not happen without the Castro brothers agreement and it was always on the cards since Raul took over.

    It is as if they want their cake and eat it too.

  12. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    Or is it a case of what I may loosely call ‘island control’. Where those ‘exiles’ want the Government BEFORE, it moves to open, so that THEY benefit from such new laisse faire , they become wealthy on the opening up.

    I suspect that may actually be the reason. As it is, who benefits from opening up now?

    Cuba as a whole? Who benefits if the ‘exiles’ took control after the Castro brothers go? The same families that owned before?

    THAT is likely where you would find your answer to the strange behavior.

  13. Crusoe Avatar
    Crusoe

    Hence, smart move by the Castro brothers. Do it now and go out elegantly.

  14. ac Avatar
    ac

    Who would have thought that the pope visit to Cuba would have been a turning point in the Cuba America relationship.One can now look beyond that papal visit and conclude that the pope,s visit was shrouded with clandestine diplomacy and influence of endearment for the Castro regime.How can one forget that glorious meeting in which Castro and the pope met and gave glorious assements of each other

  15. ac Avatar
    ac

    In the last public event of his three-day visit to the island, Pope Benedict XVI called on Cuba, and the world, to change and choose a path of “love, reconciliation and brotherhood.”

    http://www.npr.org/2012/03/28/149549480/pope-wraps-up-cuba-visit-with-mass-castro-meeting

  16. Pachamama Avatar
    Pachamama

  17. ac Avatar
    ac

    What The Change In U.S.-Cuba Relations Might Mean For Food

    . “It is important to also say that the news had fierce competition, like the arrival of fish to the rationed market, after years of disappearance,” wrote Sanchez, who is perhaps the most celebrated dissident on the island.

    As you’ve probably heard — or seen, if you’ve traveled to Cuba — food (and, at times, the lack thereof) remains one of the most striking emblems of Cuba’s dysfunctional economic system. Let’s just say that the agreement between Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro will probably eventually mean big changes for the food supply in
    Cuba.
    But if you’re picturing Cubans sipping Frappuccinos at Starbucks in Havana, or a Carnival cruise ship full of American tourists unloading in the port and filing into a gleaming new McDonald’s, hold your horses. Such massive changes are, in theory, more possible than they were on Tuesday, but not before our two governments work out a huge number of issues embedded in our super complex trade relationship, analysts say.

    http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/12/18/371478629/what-the-change-in-u-s-cuba-relations-might-mean-for-food

  18. John Hanson 1781-1782- I SERVE 1788- 1792 BARBADOES. Avatar
    John Hanson 1781-1782- I SERVE 1788- 1792 BARBADOES.

    http://www.antillean.org/1972-caribbean-leaders-led-collapse-cuban-embargo-americas/

  19. Exclaimer Avatar
    Exclaimer

    @ John Hanson 1781-1782- I SERVE 1788- 1792 BARBADOES @ Pachamama

    Thanks for the links. Unity is strength.

  20. rubes Avatar
    rubes

    cuba hundreds of miles of beaches, music, pristine beaches did i say, great topography,historical buildings, culture, cheap prices hmmm
    what can this mean for the rest of the carib?oops iffy occasional cool weather.

  21. rubes Avatar
    rubes

    oops main prob lousy food,learning curve

  22. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    “We Barbadians are a negative breed. ”

    “@ Island gal246 – you’ve disappointed me – since when have you become a tourist ambassador for Cuba?”

    Ex communicator…… I trying to be POSITIVE! Why would you want me to wish the worst for Cuba? Like you don’t like the taste of you own medicine! Wunna too two face in one breath yuh praising Cuba and in another when I trying to be positive about it yuh complaining. Man tek a plane and go and see fuh yuh self.

    BUSHeeeeeeee…yuh bags pack yet. I tekking de one o’clock flight and ah gots muh new monokini packed……..

    Come on, shake your body baby, do the conga
    I know you can’t control yourself any longer
    Come on, shake your body baby, do the conga
    I know you can’t control yourself any longer

  23. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Black beans and rice are very nice con pollo. Delicioso. Me gusta. Busheeee quiero Cuba.

  24. Exclaimer Avatar
    Exclaimer

    @ Island gal246

    Lord have mercy, i’ve just seen the Cuba carnival clip! I still think we do it better in Barbados – however I may be slightly biased. I may follow your advice and pay Cuba a visit.

  25. Hants Avatar
    Hants

  26. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Old onion bags secret spot.

  27. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    Let’s just say that the agreement between Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro will probably eventually mean big changes for the food supply in
    Cuba.
    +++++++++++++++++++++++
    Ya got THAT right AC….
    Cuba should now prepare itself for the following:

    • Lotta fat assed people packed with high blood pressure and diabetes
    • increases in cancers as the nasty GM food merchants of the USA do their damnest…
    • under-cutting of local agriculture until everyone is unemployed or cleaning up behind tourists, and eating Mac_Shiite

    @ Islandgal
    Bushie went there already… been there…done that…

    @ Crusoe
    LOL in a few years those Cuban girls will look fat and pot bellied
    …just like “wunna know who” 🙂

  28. ac Avatar
    ac

    pope Benedict have heart to heart talk with castro\

    http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/03/28/pope_cuba1_wide-f8d7972b3c8a52ec9723da3dfa0d8a531ccffc18-s800-c85.jpg

  29. ac Avatar
    ac

    very few if any outside those who might have known in the USA govt that Pope benedict’s motives were being influenced by Usa foreign policy…. while those of us from the outside looking in just might have believed from what all news media were telling us about the pope visit to cuba was in principle a religious journey,,,,no one would have suspect that in yesterday historic moment a moment of obama ushering in a new day for american and cuba relations that Pope benedict was carrying a well kept secret for the USA govt one which in principal he might have helped formed and shaped and one which will affect change in the lives of the cuban people for a very long time

  30. David Avatar
    David

    U.S. Travel Industry Carefully Eyeing Cuba Tourism

    Associated PressDecember 17, 2014

    U.S. Travel Industry Carefully Eyeing Cuba Tourism

    (Photo: Thinkstock)

    By Scott Mayerowitz

    Cuba was once a haven for sun-seeking American tourists. Beautiful beaches, lively casinos and late-night dancing made it the perfect getaway, only an hour’s flight from Miami.

    But the Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro and the subsequent Cold War embargo of the communist island nation put an end to that.

    President Barack Obama’s announcement Wednesday of plans to re-establish diplomatic ties with the Caribbean nation doesn’t mean that the island will suddenly open for tourism. It does, however, give hope to airlines, hotel chains and cruise companies — all which have been quietly eyeing a removal of the travel ban — that they soon will be able to bring tourists to Cuba.

    "Cuba is the largest country in the Caribbean, so there’s some exciting possibilities," Roger Frizzell, spokesman for Carnival Corp., said. "Some infrastructure for cruising already exists in the country, along with several ports, so it offers great potential, but there are other issues that will need to be taken into consideration if this market opens up."

    Related: Ever Wanted to See Cuba? You Can with these Cruises

    A handful of international companies already operate in Cuba. For instance, Spanish hotel chain Melia has 26 properties on the island.

    For years, U.S. airlines have been quietly dipping their toes in Cuba’s warm waters.

    While most Americans are prohibited from traveling to Cuba and spending money there, close relatives of Cubans, academics and people on accredited cultural education programs can visit. And there is a tiny, but robust business in transporting people to Cuba.

    Most operators are tiny storefront travel agents in the Miami area with names like Alina’s Travel Co. and Gina’s Travel Services. Those agents then charter planes from carriers like American Airlines to transport the groups.

    About 170,000 authorized travelers made the trip last year, according to the Department of Commerce.

    American Airlines dominates many of the routes to Latin America with its hub in Miami. It’s run charters to Cuba for more than 15 years, according to spokeswoman Martha Pantin. It now operates 12 to 14 weekly flights from Miami to Havana, Holguin, Santa Clara and Cienfuegos and from Tampa to Havana and Holguin.

    JetBlue Airways started flying Cuba charters in September 2011. The first route was Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Havana. Other flights were added. Then at the end of 2013, JetBlue looked to Tampa for more flights between Florida and Cuba. The first was a flight to Havana, then one to Santa Clara.

    It’s a very small part of the airline’s business; just four weekly flights on Airbus A320s with 50 to 80 customers. The planes typically seat 150 passengers. Besides pilots and flight attendants, JetBlue adds charter representatives and a mechanics to each Cuba flight.

    "We’re doing it because we want to exercise our muscles and understand how you operate into this country. What happens with parts, quarantine, crews," CEO David Barger told The Associated Press last year. "Just understanding what happens, if in fact there’s a normalization."

    Delta Air Lines, which operated more than 240 charter flights between October 2011 and December 2012, said it has no immediate plans to fly to Cuba. But, spokesman Anthony Black noted that “having served there through our charter operations, the groundwork has been laid for us to possibly serve the market if an opportunity becomes available.”

    Travel booking site Orbitz quickly jumped into the fray Wednesday, saying that the decision will hopefully pave the way for open travel between Cuba and the U.S. for both country’s citizens.

    "We look forward to the day — hopefully soon — when all Americans have the opportunity to travel to Cuba," CEO Barney Harford said in a statement. "There are numerous economic, social and cultural benefits that will flow from free and open access and our customers are eager to visit Cuba.

  31. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    And about time too, bunch of dead and dying warmongers with their inherent and unreasonable hatred of people they cannot dictate to or push around.

  32. Well Well Avatar
    Well Well

    Nice ambiance David.

  33. Easy Squeeze (make no riot) Avatar
    Easy Squeeze (make no riot)

  34. David Avatar
    David

    President Raul Castro to address Cubans today. All reports point to the fact Cubans in Cuba are happy at the prospect of the normalization if US-Cuba relations. Just the jackasses in Florida who ar braying.

  35. Easy Squeeze (make no riot) Avatar
    Easy Squeeze (make no riot)

    Obeah and Voodooism God will mash them down

  36. Easy Squeeze (make no riot) Avatar
    Easy Squeeze (make no riot)

  37. Easy Squeeze (make no riot) Avatar
    Easy Squeeze (make no riot)

    Greatest Hits and Greatest Misses

    aka Hijack

  38. Easy Squeeze (make no riot) Avatar
    Easy Squeeze (make no riot)

    http://www.vevo.com/watch/michael-jackson/They-Dont-Care-About-Us-(Prison-Version)-(Michael-Jacksons-Vision)/USSM21001939

  39. Easy Squeeze (make no riot) Avatar
    Easy Squeeze (make no riot)

    http://vevo.ly/fysZ3Q

  40. SITH Avatar
    SITH

    @Bush Tea

    Barbados, home of the Whopper…if you know what I mean.

  41. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Sith home of what whopper? The 4 inch one?

  42. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ SETH
    LOLOL
    Don’t mind Islandgal…
    …you should know that is the very reason she lives here…. 🙂

  43. Easy Squeeze (make no riot) Avatar
    Easy Squeeze (make no riot)

    Afros freedom fighters unite

    USA wants Assata Shakur from Cuba now

    Freedom

  44. Boy Blue Avatar
    Boy Blue

    islandgal246 December 20, 2014 at 6:24 PM #

    Sith home of what whopper? The 4 inch one?’
    ………………………………………………………………
    And that’s with an add-on

  45. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    But lets face it, Putin’s Cold War # 2 is well on the way, and it would be in the USA’s interest to win over Cuba, the spanner in the Caribbean /America’s works, before the Russian Rouble finds a life jacket, and Putin starts a process of buying back Cuba.
    In the Red Corner its the groggy Russian Rouble, and in the Red/white/blue corner its the champion US green back. Who are you Putin your money on?

  46. DeeWord Avatar
    DeeWord

    @ Col Buggy, what more exactly is there in Cuba for Putin to buy? They are already very well entrenched and a close business partner. What more to do, really!

    This lotta long talk about this warming of relations by the US is so misdirected.

    Cuba already has excellent trade and cultural relations with other nations and yet there has been no measurable benefit to the basic living conditions of its citizens

    What exactly will any lifting of a trade embargo between Cuba and the US do to make the lives of the citizens better?

    Will Cuba ease its restrictions on the over 60,000+ prisoners (many of them political)?

    Will Cuba legislate like in the USA to protect freedom of expression and the right to assemble ?

    Will the 90% state-owned enterprises start privatizations to spread the wealth?

    No, no and definitely NO on that last one.

    This is an absolutely excellent legacy touch by Pres Obama because whichever way things go from here history will herald him.

    He will be the President who reset Pres Kennedy’s 50 year old policy that now in an ‘enlightened’ 21 century had placed America on the wrong side of the entire UN body (well almost all). So all good for Obama’s place in history and as importantly setting a strong agenda in the last two years of his term.

    But what of Cuba?.

    The people in Cuba will not see real benefits of any reforms; they haven’t seen any from all the Canadian tourists who go there, nor from the high-end Spanish hotels built, nor from the supposed over $1Billion in remittance sent home by family members, so why NOW.

    The commenters here give the Bajan leaders some deserved lashes and yet this ‘vast’ country of Cuba that has been given boat-loads of money and assistance by the Soviet Union/Russia over the years, and in more recent years China is yet no better off that our little rock.

    Herald the US change all you want but please don’t stay silent on Fidel and Raul’s inability to change and adapt their revolution and bring their country from a cold-war relic to a modern nation of bustling activity.

    !Viva la revolucion ! Indeed.

  47. Easy Squeeze (make no riot) Avatar
    Easy Squeeze (make no riot)

    “Poverty is not an accident. Like slavery and apartheid it is man-made and can be removed by the actions of human beings” –Nelson Mandela

    USA and UK and EU, Dogs of Slavery Apartheid Colonialism Segregation and Racism, prove third world poverty was deliberate

  48. Easy Squeeze (make no riot) Avatar
    Easy Squeeze (make no riot)

    http://youtu.be/ZiX91o7oEVA

  49. Easy Squeeze (make no riot) Avatar
    Easy Squeeze (make no riot)

    Everyone on earth is God’s children

    Children Crying x 3

  50. David Avatar
    David

    Political opportunism is alive and well.

    Christie tells Obama to demand return of cop killer Chesimard to start Cuba talks

    Published December 21, 2014

    FoxNews.com

    Facebook243 Twitter276 livefyre717 Email Print

    christie1.jpg

    In this June 20, 2014, file photo, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Washington. (AP Photo/Molly Riley, File)

    New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is urging President Obama to demand that Cuba return convicted police-killer Joanne Chesimard before he proceeds with efforts to improve diplomatic relations with that country.

    Chesimard was found guilty of killing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster in 1973 before escaping from prison and fleeing to Cuba. The 67-year-old Chesimard has since been provided safe haven by the Cuban government.

    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/12/21/christie-tells-obama-demand-return-police-killer-chesimard-to-begin-cuba-talks/

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