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.
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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 think Janet pretty much hit the nail on the head. The new leader is a moron. Trumps embargoes also don’t help. What Janet said is pretty much how it is.
Nothing more annoying than vacation which don’t meet my standard. I work hard, I pay big bucks, huge for Cubans, and I demand that they deliver. Nothing more, nothing less.
All that bushtit about supporting political climate when Cubans are starving…well, it is NOT my country, it is NOT my problem. Deal with is, don’t wait for others to do so or blame America forever.
Country decided to be a tourist oriented then deliver to tourists, must have great drinks, abundance of food, variety of food, light, electricity, fun. We are coming to destress, to relax not to compare ourselves to starving this or that. We have our own problems in our countries. I’m planning another vacation, but it won’t be Cuba. Fighting for a basic food like egg, fries or hamburger???? O come on! I know you Cubans have problems, but you also like my tips and gifts I bring in suitcases.
I’ve been traveling to Cuba since 2004 , with friends and family several times a year. Cuba is an affordable and safe place but NOT for everyone. If people start looking into the politics of each nation they visit, then stay home. Cuba has not insulted or belittle Canada. When you’re on vacation you go for the architecture, the people, the beaches, NOT for who’s running the hotel and other stupidities. Also when you pay $700-$1200 a week in a all-inclusive, including flight, hotel,transportation, food and drinks don’t expect steaks and Michelin food. You’ll not starve and it’s only a week. And if you feel bad for peoples situation, then help them. When I go, I always bring lots of meds, hygiene products and much more and I give to people in towns. I visit doctors and distribute the meds, gloves etc. Do something NOT just complain . I despise people that are ignorant and stupid.
Again
” CUBA IS NOT FOR EVERYONE”
If you don’t like to travel to Cuba because of your beliefs stay home or pay 3x more and visit an unsafe Mexico or DR. or Europe.
There are two different opposing Canadian views about vacationing in Cuba. There are also two different ways to vacation in Cuba. The most popular and also the most isolated geographically is the all inclusive resort vacations described by many. Nothing wrong with this one week, or two week, Cuban getaway from the harsh Canadian winter ice and cold.
However, there is also the Cuban home rentals experience which in Spanish is known as “casas particulares”. For some Canadians who shun the isolated, restrictive, all inclusive resorts, lodging with a Cuban family is more than a vacation; it can be a renewal of long established friendships perhaps even a life altering experience.
From my experience as a Canadian visiting Cuba regularly since the early 1990s after the Soviets left and no longer coddled the country with its infusion of subsidized sustenance, tourism became the new nirvana for both the totalitarian government and for enterprising Cuban home rental entrepreneurs.
As the Cuban totalitarian government made tourism its central revenue resource, it allowed ordinary Cubans with an enterprising spirit to also enter the tourism trade by offering tourists lodging with a Cuban family owning rental accommodation at a very, very, reasonable cost.
So, Cuba as time progressed attracted two types of tourists whether they came from Canada or elsewhere is immaterial. Cuba offered those tourists that wanted more from their vacation than poolside pleasures, themed nightly shows, and beach lounging a more truly intimate all encompassing Cuban experience.
These casas particulares offer a vacation encapsulated all that Cuban culture entails – language, authentic home cooked meals, lasting friendships, history and more. Not for everyone, this home rental experience within the confines of a Cuban family offers the freedom and insight into the reality of how ordinary Cubans live their daily lives unlike the all inclusive resorts which are isolated geographic areas off limits for the majority of ordinary Cubans.
In the article, the opposing commentator clearly says: “What he leaves out is that tourists are actually guests of the military.” True. This comment made by the opposing view towards all inclusive resorts is bang on. In fact, all foreign currency entering Cuba whether a Canadian tourist pays via a travel agency for a room in a resort, or paying cash for a room rental in a casa particulares the money eventually ends up in the coffers of the totalitarian government. There is no way around this other than – boycott Cuba.
More to the point, a tourist staying in a casa particulares is truly a guest of an ordinary Cuban home rental entrepreneur trying to make a living in economically depressed Cuba, whereas a tourist staying in an all inclusive resort more often than not the resort is owned and operated by the Cuban military.
I doubt it very much whether winter wary Canadians will cease to vacation in Cuba. Whether it is a short one week or two week stint in a favourite all inclusive resort, or whether the vacation entails a more intimate cultural intense adventure visiting long established Cuban friends in a Cuban home environment, Canadian tourists will continue vacationing and visiting Cuba and will not abandon their Cuban friends.
I go to Cuba every year to visit family and help when I can. Yes there are many Cuban families at the resorts, I show respect wait my turn as I am more fortunate to have three meals a day. Tourism needs the tourism.
This does not look good for Canada. Canadians vacationing at the expense of Cubans trapped on the island. Tourist only beaches. They fund Castro Thugs and have no qualms about the slaves and misery they support.
5 if you traveled there last March. Stayed at Roc Barlevento. So disappointed with the shortages there. No desserts, no bread, no rum but we were told at other resorts there was no issues. The resort is owned by Sunwing and we were told it was a management problem. Sad because it was my 8th time to Cuba but first for my lady friends. The staff tried hard but had very little to work with. It was a disappointment for sure. Plus 3 of our rooms had no hot water. Never did get fixed.
Hey…its a bad juju place..until they look after their people i wont be back…
I have been to Cuba numerous times and always enjoyed my stay..until I returned after covid
Varadero was non existent..in fact all the restaurants had disappeared. It had become an island of beggars and everybody wanted something from tourists. We stayed in an all inclusive and primarily existed on sandwiches. The resort we stayed at ( and I use this term very loosely) catered for the most part to wealthy? Cubans. In fact to get into the ala carts we were encouraged?? to bring a bottle of wine to get in..or it was deemed fully booked.
I struggled with feeling empathy for the Cubans.
The new Cuban leader had upended tourism by changing currency several times. I mentioned to a cab driver that I feared a revolution soon and he agreed.
There are no Russian tourists because they are forced to fly over Africa because they can’t fly over US airspace.
Anyway I hope for the best for Cubans but I fear the worst.
I believe that the US and Russia are waiting for a collapse and both will be there to supply aid??
I have traveled to Cuba many times and wholeheartedly agree with Mike’s reviews on his YouTube channel!
It’s very positive and uplifting, he loves Cuban people just like I do.
The resorts are always doing their best to keep the tourists happy, what is wrong with that? If you don’t like it, just don’t go, as Mike’s says, it’s not for everyone.
Personally I will always go back to Cuba, even though I have been to Mexico, DR and Europe.
I go to or the people, beaches and healthy food❤️
look at the prices now for cuba, way up compared to last year, things are so bad the russians are vacationing in north korea instead of cuba
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.