Photo by David Cogswell
The travel agency community expressed considerable enthusiasm about the news that the Obama administration plans to re-establish diplomatic ties with Cuba, believing the action was long overdue. Furthermore, agents and agency groups alike believe demand for travel to Cuba will be significant.
ASTA, which for years has staunchly supported a full repeal of the Cuba ban, and whose board of directors voted to support its lifting four years ago, applauded the government's announcement. "ASTA commends the Obama Administration for charting a new course in U.S. relations with Cuba," said Zane Kerby, president and CEO of ASTA.
Noting that general tourism is still prohibited under the embargo, Kerby pledged that ASTA, in conjunction with its agency owner and allied travel company members, would work with the U.S. government to "ensure that Americans are free to travel to Cuba without constraint from their own government."
According to ASTA estimates, the number of additional Americans traveling to Cuba by 2017 - if travel restrictions are fully lifted next year - is 2 million, arguably a substantial number. Of that number about 1,020,000 would be vacationers traveling by air and 521,400 by cruise ship. More than half a million, or 550,000, would travel to Cuba to visit family members.
Like ASTA, Signature Travel Network also viewed the re-establishment of U.S.-Cuba ties as a positive move. "Cuba and the U.S. are neighboring nations, and as such, have much to gain by having diplomatic relations," said Ignacio Maza, Signature's executive vice president. "The U.S. has diplomatic relations with China, Vietnam, Laos, and other countries that have a communist government. Cuba should not be treated differently."
And while Maza said Signature believes the announcement will generate many new inquiries for travel to Cuba, he stressed, as ASTA did, that at least for now the vast majority of Americans will not be free to travel to Cuba. "Americans will only be able to travel for humanitarian reasons or with an affinity group and a licensed tour operator," he said. "Cuban-Americans will still be able to visit relatives in Cuba, per the current policy. In the short-term, this will generate new inquiries for travel to Cuba through the currently approved operators."
Currently, Maza said the only obstacle to selling the destination has been limited availability. "We believe that when Americans are free to travel to Cuba as individuals, the potential is in the millions of U.S. travelers annually."
Signature consultants have been selling Cuba through tour operators approved by the U.S. Department of the Treasury that have the necessary licenses permitting Americans to travel there. "Signature has been actively selling travel to Cuba through our preferred tour operator partners that are licensed, including Abercrombie & Kent, Backroads, Isram, and Tauck," Maza said. "Signature has had longstanding preferred relations with these companies, and we have been selling travel to Cuba for a number of years."
Similarly, Travel Leaders Group has been sending a growing number of Americans to Cuba under federally licensed people-to-people exchange programs, said Barry Liben, president of Travel Leaders Group. "In fact, this year alone, we've sent many of our travel agent professionals to Cuba through this innovative program," he said. "Our hope is that Americans will now enjoy substantially more opportunities to act as ambassadors for their country by visiting Cuba."
Following a Travel Leaders' Associate Division trip to Cuba with the Globus Family of Brands earlier this year, Liben said the company used its "From the Frontline" poll to determine whether associates had clients who have expressed interest in traveling to Cuba. "A majority, 55.3 percent, of our Travel Leaders agents have had clients expressing interest with 11 percent of them already having been booked for Cuba," Liben said. "Still, 44.7 percent told us they didn't have any clients expressing interest."
In the view of Martin Gould, immediate client demand could be significant. "I think there will obviously be people interested in going sooner rather than later because they'll be able to see the Cuba that exists now versus in a year or two or three," said Gould, vice president of leisure sales at The Travel Business, an affiliate of Tzell Travel Group.
Also, Cuba will become more accessible to more Americans. "More people will have the option to travel there without having to go through organizations that have special person-to-person cultural exchange programs, which are priced on the high side," he said. "It's always been a very expensive place for people to go."
Gould, who has himself visited Cuba, believes the destination will attract intellectually curious, adventurous travelers looking to explore a decidedly different type of destination. "You have amazing history, music, culture and the beach," he said. "It was one of the most fascinating and incredible travel experiences that I ever had."
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