In the wake of the geopolitically significant announcement by the governments of the United States and Cuba with regard of their intent to renew diplomatic ties, speculation has emerged about the possibility of Cuba becoming a prime tourism destination for budget travelers. Since Costa Rica is widely considered to be the reigning queen of tourism in the Americas, how likely is it for Cuba to usurp the throne?

 

As recently reported by The Costa Rica Star, our country tops vacation-related Internet queries on the Bing search engine. Costa Rica is also among one of the top international travel destinations mentioned by Priceline.com for 2015. However, some travel industry analysts are betting big on Cuba becoming the tourism darling of the Americas, to wit: Charles Passy from Dow Jones’ MarketWatch:

 

travel professionals say there is significant pent-up demand among Americans to see Cuba. “It has been the forbidden fruit,” says Steve Loucks, a spokesman for Travel Leaders, a major travel agency based in Plymouth, Minn. Loucks points out that when Travel Leaders surveyed its agents earlier this year, it found that a majority (55%) had clients who had expressed interest in Cuba.

 

Also commenting on this topic is The Globe and Mail from Canada:

 

With warm beaches, Latin culture and attractive prices – tinged with the romantic intrigue of its revolution history – Cuba is a top-three destination for Canadians, behind the U.S. and Mexico. In 2012, more than one million Canadians visitors spent nearly $750-million in Cuba. With Americans banned by their own government from going there, Cuba’s all-inclusive resorts have been the domain of Canadians, Europeans and South Americans.

 

Two significant aspects of the paragraph above: “Attractive prices” and “Americans banned by their own government.” U.S. tourists who enjoy budget travel used to flock to Costa Rica en masse in the halcyon days of the early 21^st century, just around the time ecotourism exploded in our country. In recent years, however, Costa Rica has gone through considerable periods of inflation, which have greatly affected the wallets of tourists and expats. In fact, The Costa Rica Star has pondered on this issue with articles such as:

 

Watch the Throne: Will Expats Leave Guanacaste for Spain?

Pack Your Bags: 5 Places Cheaper than Costa Rica

 

Cuba is a mere 90 miles over water from another major tourist destination in the U.S.: The Florida Keys. It is not unreasonable to think that such proximity would entice U.S. tourists to Cuba, and the current low prices in that island nation are certainly a strong siren song. As you read this, tourism analysts are already wondering how the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico could be affected; here’s more on that from travel industry publication Skift:

 

Puerto Rico’s economy will suffer when more U.S. travelers are allowed to visit Cuba as economic barriers are loosened, according to Belle Haven Investments, which manages $2.4 billion of municipal debt.

 

“Cuba is poised to become the next hot spot destination which will attract tourists who now travel to Puerto Rico,” Matt Dalton, chief executive officer, and Tamara Lowin, director of research, at the White Plains, New York-based firm, wrote in a report today.

 

It is important to note that the above commentary is speculative at this point. U.S. tourism to Cuba is still banned despite recent developments, although intrepid visitors have found their way around that restriction (it can be done from here, but The Costa Rica Star will not endorse it). Time can only tell if tourists will find favor in Cuba and consider it a worthy alternative to Costa Rica, particularly with regard to savings, but for the time being our country is still the tourism darling of the Americas.

More information about Cuba