From our Annals of Apartheid Tourism Bureau with some assistance from our Bureau of Impending Doom
Basically, Canadians are now being told to stay away from Cuba because traveling there is too risky due to frequent power outages, chronic shortages of basic necessities, including food, water, and medicine; theft and insecurity on the streets, a fuel crisis, broken roads, and old cars, among other risks. Wow. Let’s see how well this warning is heeded and how big of a dent it will put in Castro, Inc.’s apartheid tourism income.
Abridged and loosely translated from Marti Noticias
“Exercise a high degree of caution in Cuba due to the shortage of essential items, including food, medicine, and fuel,” the Canadian government advises its citizens traveling to the island, in a warning that details the deep crisis affecting the Caribbean country.
In an updated alert on Friday, November 8, Canadian authorities advised against non-essential travel to the province of Guantánamo, still impacted by Hurricane Oscar in mid-October, as well as to western Cuba, where Hurricane Rafael last week left communities devastated and nearly the entire country without power.
Among the western provinces of Cuba that Canada recommends avoiding are Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Havana, Mayabeque, Matanzas, and the special municipality Isla de la Juventud.
Visits by travelers from Canada, one of the island’s main sources of tourism, have decreased this year. As of last September, the island had received around 695,567 Canadians, compared to 709,555 in the same period in 2023, according to figures from the state-run National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI).
Although the government guarantees electricity in hotel and resort areas using generators and other microsystems, Canadian authorities warned that “they may not be able to maintain services if the disruption persists.”
Canada recommended its citizens traveling to Cuba stay informed about power outages, keep their phones charged, and contact their airline to check if this situation affects their travel plans.
They also warned of crimes such as theft, assault, credit card fraud, ATM scams, and sexual tourism, among others.
Regarding the latter, the Canadian government warned: “In bars, sex workers, including minors, can be very persistent and intrusive with tourists who reject their advances. Foreigners, including Canadians, have been victims of theft after engaging in sexual relations, and some have faced accusations of child sexual abuse.”
They also stated that Cuba faces a chronic and severe shortage of essential items, including food, bottled water, public water supply, medicine, fuel, and hard currency.
“Fuel shortages are currently critical and affect a wide range of services. Traveling across the island is a major challenge. Public transportation services, including taxis, are often interrupted, leaving tourists with few options for travel. Some travelers have been temporarily stranded with rental cars. There are intermittent shortages of potable water supplied by municipalities, even in Havana and tourist centers,” detailed the Canadian government.
In its travel alert, Canada is recommending its citizens plan according to the scarcity situation in Cuba and bring some basic items, such as toiletries and medications, as well as “a complete emergency kit.”
Regarding communications, both by phone and internet, the Canadian government noted that service in Cuba is poor, connections are unreliable, and can be intermittent.
Therefore, they recommended that travelers do not rely on mobile phones for emergencies, especially outside major cities, and instead subscribe to and install a VPN service before leaving Canada.
Driving in Cuba is also dangerous, the Canadian government stated, due to the poor condition of roads and the vehicles on them.
For public transportation, they noted that urban buses “are scarce, overcrowded, and poorly maintained.” It is an unreliable service where pickpocketing incidents are frequent.
The Canadian government also warned its citizens about the occurrence of public protests and recommended they stay clear of them.
According to the latest figures, Canadian tourists outnumber those from the #2 source of tourists to Cuba (Russia) by a factor of nearly 5 to 1. As if they couldn’t possibly go anywhere else in the Caribbean region.