When the former US President, Barack Obama, announced in late 2014 that he was easing travel restrictions on US citizens wishing to visit Cuba, a frisson ran through the tourist industry in the rest of the region. Seminars and conferences were hastily convened, papers produced, and Caribbean governments sought to understand the extent to which Cuba’s opening to the US market might divert visitors.
A little more than two years on, the concerns of the sector seem to have been largely allayed.
The industry variously has taken comfort from capacity constraints in Havana, rapidly rising room rates, and relatively poor service, at a time when there has been strong growth in visitor numbers and revenues in much of the rest of the region.
Despite this, it would be wise to consider closely the
