Reuters is reporting that Canadian and European tourism to Cuba is down, contrary to official reports from the Cuban government. Child of the Revolution has more.
Interestingly, the cause for the drop in tourism from these countries isnt Cuba’s recent dengue epidemic or the apartheid system or the dismal human rights record of the government or its political prisoners. No. It’s because it was beginning to get a bit pricy:
Industry sources said earlier this year that partly because of changes to exchange rates, Cuba was becoming increasingly costly and less profitable for foreign tour operators, some of whom were switching to other Caribbean countries.
The Canadian Association of Tour Operators complained this year to the Cuban Ministry of Tourism about the lack of adequate service for tourists, theft at airports and hotels, and jet fuel costing 33 percent more than elsewhere.
I’ve heard from several sources that the vacation experience in Cuba is sorely lacking in comparison to similar resorts in Mexico and the Dominican Republic and much more expensive.
The fact is, despite lip service to the contrary, nobody cares about Cuba’s plight except Cubans. The rest of the world, meaning the free world which supposedly cares about freedom and human rights, is at best indifferent, and in many cases opportunistic or downright predatory. This includes even Cuba’s “mother” Spain (one hell of a bad mother) and “sister” or “brother” countries in Latin America, who never get tired of backstabbing Cuba’s aspirations for freedom. With such a “family”, what can one expect from countries like Canada and France, with no particular ties to Cuba? Just business as usual.
Asombra, you are absolutely correct. I couldn’t have said it better.
But you know what? This story proves once again that castro is King Midas in reverse. Everything he touches turns to shit. I mean tourism is probably the easiest most natural industry for Cuba to be in and still these fucking communists find a way to screw it up.
How can you know how to treat tourists when you have no idea what tourists want or expect? If Cuba ever wants to be successful as a tourist destination it needs to better educate the workers in the service sector. People spending money on vacations expect certain things for their money, and Cubans just don’t understand the concept of customer service.