Two Differing Canadian Views on Tourism to Cuba
HAVANA TIMES – For decades, Canada is the country with more of its citizens visiting Cuba during their vacations, especially during the cold months up north.
The following are two views on visiting the Caribbean country. One is a video, from early in the last winter season, from a frequent visitor and youtuber who maintains that conditions for tourists at the resorts remain attractive, albeit he notes some being better than others. He emphasizes the excellent food and drink buffets and pristine beaches.
The other is a response from another Canadian visitor on several occasions to Cuba but who has chosen not to return after the government crackdown on the nationwide protests on July 11, 2021.
The subject of vacationing in Cuba is an ongoing debate among Canadians. Canadian tourism to Cuba is down considerably, but it is still by far the leading sender of visitors to the island. We look forward to your input on the subject, whether you are Canadian or from other countries.
——-
Click here to see the video from the Finding Fish youtuber that sparked the following comment posted on Reddit.com.
What Canadians tourists get fed about Cuba
This guy is so gross. I’m starting to believe he’s a shill for the Cuban government. “Honest Reviews” of Cuban resorts.
He prattles on and on about how there are no real problems for tourists, how the government prioritizes power and food for the resorts and how you should overlook the negatives in Cuba and keep a positive mindset. The food at the buffets? It’s a dream for the average Cuban. Eggs? Sausages? Insane.
What embarrasses me as a Canadian is hearing that tourists don’t want to travel to the resorts where locals visit on weekends because “they take all the food.” Gee, I wonder why that is.
Cuban tourism peeps have done a very good job marketing Cuba as: even though the resorts can be a little rough around the edges, Cuba is cheap, cheerful and very safe.
I find it gross when he says at 4:38, “I totally believe the resorts and the Cuban Government are probably doing as much as they can to make sure tourism is solid as it can be because they want people to go home happy and I feel…. that they’re just not going to skimp on things.”
What he leaves out is that tourists are actually guests of the military.
Says he’s been 23 times and I’ve looked over his channel. He gets upgraded rooms often.
I wouldn’t be surprised if in fact Gaviota wasn’t footing the bill for his trips. Some of what he says has the ring of propaganda.
Anyway, my first trip as a tourist was in 2001. Buena Vista Social Club had been playing in a record store. I fell in love with the music and it made me want to go to the source.
That first trip, through tourist eyes, things didn’t look so bad.
Over the years, I visited Cuba 6 more times… when money was tight and I still wanted to get away from our miserable winter.
I realized something was seriously wrong when I gave a groundskeeper my insulated stainless steel mug (keep some ice and water in it while you’re working in the hot sun, something we take for granted here) and he cried tears of joy.
Anyway we’re not bad people up in Canada, we just don’t know or don’t want to know. We’ve been marketed to very well.
When the protests happened in 2021, the protests that were crushed by the police and military… and my tourist dollars helped do that, I realized it was time to stop going.
I have been watching Mike’s videos for almost 2 years and I have visited Cuba over 20 times. I can confidently say that Mike represents the Cuban vacation from Canada very well. He always says Cuba is not for everyone. If you want a peaceful vacation with a cuban coffee, nice weather, friendly smiles, you will still get it.
The first time I went to Cuba I paid $1200 for an all inclusive. That was 20 years ago. The price hasn’t changed and so after inflation, what do you expect for the same price or less in 2025?
If you don’t like island food like fish, pineapple, papaya, fresh eggs and pork, it’s not for you and it never will be. For the rest of us, we can’t wait for our next trip.
I posted some negative things about Cuba on his Youtube channel, like, God help you if you get sick while you’re in Cuba.
They were immediately taken down.
I, too, have come to the conclusion, that he is a shill for Cuban tourism, and must be benefitting financially.
I also detest the dumb bullshit on these videos.. I wrote something negative on a hotel website and got blocked.. It was just to remind or educate them that didn’t know they support the suppressive regime..
Wow! I often think the same thing about the Finding Fish YouTuber. He seems overly pro-Cuban military (GAESA). By that I mean how he drools about these two and three star hotel properties. Has he been to Cancun? Even Jamaica and the Dominican Republic would give him a better perspective. The thing is that he leaves all the bad stuff out. Or, if he includes it, he says that such-and-such was not available “during my visit”. This implies that fresh milk, for example, is otherwise available and it was just bad timing for his visit. Yep, I wonder if he gets a little somethin’ on the side from the Cuban military to say what he says. To be transparent, I stopped going to Cuban resorts years ago because it sucked back then too. Now, I stay with family or in a casa particular. But I am sure that it has only gotten worse since then, not better. Here’s the worst part: these 3-star resorts are not at 3-star prices. They will say they are 5-star resorts and use the higher prices to make their point. I think that the Finding Fish guy forgets that it’s the airlines that fly him in and out of Cuba that make the overall trip seem cheaper. But the hotel and transfer fees? Hardly a deal.