The challenge of Cuban tourism: a commentary on "Cuba at the Crossroads".(CQ CASES)

Prospects for opening joint ventures in Cuba by U.S. hotel operators remain dim, despite inevitable changes in the island's government. Expatriate Cubans remain adamantly opposed to the current regime, thus providing a political headwind. Beyond that, a question arises of why Cuba's tourist interests would want to invite more leakage of tourism revenues beyond the European and other interests now on the island. Although ecotourism presents an attractive mechanism for expanding Cuba's tourist arrivals, the island's industry is currently focused on sun and sand tourism. Finally, the likely clash of operating styles might well doom any effort toward a U.S.-Cuban joint venture.

Keywords: Cuban tourism; Cuban expatriates; ecotourism

The authors of the accompanying article, "Cuba at the Crossroads," present an interesting case. They suggest that U.S. hospitality business interests become involved in establishing joint projects in Cuba in the near future and that the industry become active in encouraging a change in current U.S. government policy that would permit U.S. travelers to vacation in Cuba. It is these authors' contention that because of the rise in tourism in Cuba over the past few years and the potential for political change after Fidel Castro leaves power, there are extremely valuable business opportunities for U.S. hospitality enterprises. Regarding these contentions, I must ask, "Why?"

Though the authors do present a comprehensive historical account of the rise and fall of Cuban tourism over the past fifty years, I believe that they have omitted (or downplayed) some of the key variables in the equation for change to occur in Cuba. They do raise the obvious issue of distrust between the Cuban people and any business that is associated with the United States. The authors, however, do not provide much discussion of the powerful and influential role of the Cuban American communities in the United States. The influence of these communities focuses on the distrust and hostility toward the current socialist government in Cuba. This group is a powerful segment, both financially and politically, and has the potential to make it difficult for U.S. business interests to collaborate with Cuban businesses--particularly those that are closely associated with the current Cuban government. This group of Cuban expatriates may also attempt to discourage U.S. travelers from visiting Cuba, so that tourist revenues do not benefit the economy supporting the Cuba government.

Although Cuba is the second most popular Caribbean destination for tourists, as identified by the authors of the accompanying case study, less than 5 percent of these visitors are from the United States. The question I raise relates to the reason why Cuban interests would be interested in partnerships with U.S. businesses, because the Cuban tourist industry is growing without U.S. connections. Capital is flowing from Canada and Western Europe for development of the island's tourism industry. U.S. businesses are not competing in this industry in Cuba, and their business competitors are thus gaining an early-entry advantage.

Because of the high rate of foreign involvement, the Cuban tourist industry has a high leakage rate in its tourism industry. It is hard to see why Cuban businesses would want to invite even more leakage with the addition of U.S. businesses entering the marketplace.

The authors contend that ecotourism could be the key to bringing Cuban business and U.S. tourists together. This worthwhile notion came into question in a 2006 article by Anthony Winson, "Ecotourism and Sustainability in Cuba: Does Socialization Make a Difference?" As Winson pointed out, any attempt by Cuba to embrace genuine ecotourism is likely to be difficult and complex given the current political and social situation there. Ecotourism principles, such as promotion of positive environmental ethics, for instance, are currently not seen as an important component of the Cuban development policy, because today the majority of ecotourism in Cuba is passive nature tourism. Furthermore, Padilla and McElroy (2007), Sugden (2006), and Winson (2006) have all reported a noticeable decline in local environmental quality, which is one of the desired outcomes of successful ecotourism. The issue of providing local benefits from ecotourism is limited to a few exceptional cases in Cuba today, due to the fact that most ecotourism destinations in Cuba are still under the control "of the government and [state-related] tourist companies," as Winson wrote, and therefore benefits the local population are receiving are soon removed to benefit the Cuban government.

Though the authors of the accompanying article have provided a thorough review of the history of Cuban tourism, I feel they are overly optimistic regarding their conclusions of a relatively easy transition of the U.S. tourism sectors moving into business with Cuban counterparts. Their article presents what seems to be an incomplete picture of the challenges posed by the opening up of Cuba to U.S. tourists and investors (Padilla and McElroy 2007). Cuba is a complex country with political and social issues in conflict with those of the United States. The future of tourism development in Cuba with U.S. interests is yet to be seen. Cuba, in my opinion, has the natural resources to become a desired international destination for nature-focused tourists. The nature-based tourism industry could greatly benefit local residents who live close to natural sites (such as national parks), as well as the rest of the population of Cuba. This would require policy development that focused on nature-based tourism principles and reducing development policy focusing on the "sun and beach" tourism theme.

To assist Cuba in moving to the next stage of tourism development, thus benefiting both its economy and its people, it may be necessary for the U.S. hospitality industry to reassess its current development strategies and think outside the box.

References

Padilla, A., and J. L. McElroy. 2007. Cuba and Caribbean tourism after Castro. Annals of Tourism Research 34 (3): 649-72.

Sugen, J. 2006. Running Havana: Observations on the political economy of sport tourism in Cuba. Leisure Studies 26 (2): 235-51.

Winson, A. 2006. Ecotourism and sustainability in Cuba: Does socialism make a difference? Journal of Sustainable Tourism 14 (1): 6-23.

Kenneth Backmen, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at Clemson University (frank@clemson.edu).

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