Travelling to any new destination is always exciting, and a visit I made to Havana recently met all my expectations. Given President Obama’s recent visit there, and the Rolling Stones free performance in front of about one million people, Havana and Cuba are certainly high on the list of many people’s “must visit” locations. Thanks to the bold steps by InterCaribbean’s Lyndon Gardiner to make his airline a truly regional operation, getting to Havana has now become a lot easier from Turks and Caicos. The first flights to Havana from here started in May, joining the existing route to Santiago de Cuba.
It’s impossible in the space of a two day visit to make too many meaningful judgements about a city, but it did seem clear that even during the low season Havana is likely to become an extremely popular destination, especially from the USA. More seasoned visitors to Cuba than me, like Santiago Fittipaldi, who was in our small group and has travelled extensively in the region for his former company Burson Marsteller, believe that the advent of cruise ships will have a major impact on the city. Some of the less appealing signs were already there, with dogs attired in Cuban colours for tourist photos marring the wonderful squares. There is also a large amount of private sector refurbishment of the precincts in Old Havana, paving the way for more tourist friendly cafes, bars and retail outlets. It’s still some way from the tourist-clogged sites of cruise ship attractions like Venice or Cancun, but those days cannot be too far away.
It’s also too early to assess what impact the opening of Cuba may have on TCI as a tourist destination. I didn’t have the opportunity to see any of the country’s beaches, but it is unlikely that they will too soon have the appeal of some of TCI’s beautiful by nature surroundings. Havana will become an additional stop on the cruise ship circuit, so to that extent it could become competition for Grand Turk, which already faces new arrivals like the recently opened cruise centre in the Dominican Republic. But we have managed to maintain an arrival rate in Grand Turk of around 900,000 a year, which is great for the island’s economy.
The opening up of Cuba could also in some respects benefit Turks and Caicos. In addition to the flights which InterCaribbean are running to the country, there are suggestions that some of TCI’s existing investors may look to Cuba to invest in parallel developments, which could offer the discerning traveller a taste of two very different markets. That prospect may still be sometime away, as our Embassy mentioned during our visit that it could be a mistake to over-estimate the pace of change in Cuba. But for the time being it beckons the curious visitor as a destination, easily reached from Providenciales, full of wonderful buildings and a fascinating history and future.
