The opening of Cuba for cruise passengers from the US could have far reaching consequences for the cruise industry in the region.
On Wednesday, the US and Cuba agreed to restore diplomatic ties for the first time since 1961 and the US agreed to ease travel restrictions between the two countries. However, it was not immediately known what this would mean in practice.
We think the cruise industry would be a major beneficiary from lifting of all travel restrictions currently imposed by the US government on its citizens.
Cuba’s tourism infrastructure would be unlikely to be able to cope with an influx of large numbers of Americans wishing to visit the country. Cruise ships would be able to overcome this be offering itineraries with overnight stays; Cuba is located only some 90 miles south of Florida, which would allow this on even short duration itineraries.
Cuba is virtually the only island in the Caribbean that can offer city destinations to visiting tourists, which could broaden the appeal of the region.
The introduction of Scandinavian style cruise ferries that carry passengers in good quality accommodations and their vehicles plus roro freight, could also be on the cards.
It is possible that the availability of berthing facilties in major locations, such as Havana, could pose some problems to cruise lines should the demand for cruises thsat visit Cuba reach a high level in a short period of time, which we think could be the case.
The opening of Cuba would, quite likely, have a negative impact of cruise tourism in the Bahamas as many lines would probably replace Nassau with Havana on their itineraries.
