The recent rollout of Delta Vacations' new Cuba travel programs was the culmination of a long process of product development, during which the product development team kept two objectives top of mind: trust and ease.
"Cuba is a trust sale because everybody knows that it's evolving," said Tina Iglio, senior vice president, marketing for Delta Vacations.
"They've heard stories about the hotels and service, and that you can't necessarily guarantee things, and I think that's in the minds of travel agents, who are looking for someone that they can trust their customers with. It's one of our core value propositions. Part of why we believe travel agents choose us is because of trust."
The second most important objective of the company in developing the Cuba product was to make it as easy for customers to understand and to purchase as possible.
"One of our core components of building the product was to make sure that we provide a product that is easy to understand because Cuba is very complex," said Eric Fandek, Delta Vacations' senior director of product development.
Essential to making the product easy to purchase is in thoroughly training the inside sales people at the company's call center to help customers understand the uniquely complicated regulations surrounding travel to Cuba under the U.S. embargo, which remains in effect.
"Our call center team up in Minot is really able to walk customers through that booking process and talk the agent through what's required, what's part of the package, what a customer is getting," said Fandek
The U.S. embargo on Cuba requires Americans on People to People tours in Cuba to maintain a full schedule of personal encounters with Cubans, which most travelers find to be highly rewarding, but which can nonetheless be complicated to understand during the purchasing process.
"It's not a typical itinerary where you might say, 'In the morning I'll relax and in the afternoon I'm going to take a tour and then I'm going to go on a fun walk around the city,'" said Fandek. "It's an experience of immersion. You really feel like you're included in the Cuban environment. You are being taken to different places and having a truly interactive experience with the local guide."
The company rolled out its program in two phases. It introduced basic air/hotel/transfer packages for Havana, Varadero and Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba, on Dec. 1, 2016, for travel starting Jan. 5. The basic packages were targeted to those who qualify under the U.S. Offices of Foreign Assets (OFAC) regulations to travel to Cuba in any of 12 categories, such as families or religious travel. Phase one of the program addressed a relatively small portion of the market.
Phase two of the rollout targets the vast majority of the U.S. market, those who must travel under the People to People rules set up by the U.S. Department of Commerce. In late January, Delta Vacations rolled out phase two of its Cuba program, the People to People tours. The packages are available now for travel beginning April 30.
Delta Vacations brings some advantages to the marketplace through the brand recognition of its parent airline. The affiliation with a major airline will potentially appeal to many previously tentative customers who will feel more comfortable traveling to Cuba under the auspices of a major airline.
The affiliation with the airline also brings other advantages. Members of Delta's SkyMiles frequent flyer program who book a Cuba package will receive 1,000 bonus miles in addition to the credit for miles flown. And Delta Air Lines offers daily flight service to Havana from New York (JFK), Atlanta and Miami.
The company is now offering two basic itineraries: an eight-day/seven-night tour of Havana and Varadero, and a six-day/five-night tour of Havana.
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