US-Cuba ties: vacation costs likely to rise for Canadians
The US travel industry has hailed moves to re-establish diplomatic ties with Cuba, with airlines, hotel chains and cruise companies looking forward to the day when Americans can travel freely to and from the Caribbean island.
However, in Canada, travel industry leaders say it could spell the beginning of the end of cheap vacations for Canadian snowbirds.
"I think there will be an uptick of Canadians who are thinking about going to Cuba, or haven’t been, thinking this is our last chance to get a great deal," said Allison Wallace, spokeswoman for Flight Centre Canada.
"As soon as it opens to Americans, whenever that is, we would certainly expect the prices to go higher since it’s all about supply and demand," she said.
Arch Ritter, a Carleton University economics professor specializing in Cuba voiced a similar sentiment.
"When full normalization occurs, when American tourists can travel to Cuba, there’s going to be a tsunami of curiosity tourism, and that probably will push up the costs of tourism substantially, and Canadian tourists may be squeezed," he said.
While US-Cuba business travel restrictions will be eased, general tourism is still off-limits for the time being.
Jury Krytiuk, head of the Cuba travel department at Toronto agency A. Nash Travel Inc. says when US travelers are permitted full access, prices could surge in the short term due to limited tourism infrastructure.
"There’s a limited amount of accommodation, so there’s going to have to be a lot of hotels built, especially in the cities, to accommodate people who want to visit," he said.
However Krytiuk believes the Cuban culture will be able to survive relatively intact.
"Cuba has a culture and a flavor that is unique unto itself. They are proud people, and they’re going to want to retain that culture."
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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