Skift Take
No one doubts that Cuba will continue to grow as a cruise destination. The question is how that growth will be managed — and whether the island can cope with the influx of additional daily visitors.
Since the first Miami-to-Havana cruise in decades sailed in 2016, operators have steadily waded back into the market.
Their entry has been slow by design even as demand stayed strong: Red tape, government approval, and limited physical capacity combined to keep Cuba a destination popular with cruisers but not yet overrun.
But recent moves in Cuba suggest the goal is to remove some of those barriers — especially where capacity is concerned. And that has some experts and tour guides concerned.
"I think that the project that's being announced is overexuberant and not particularly aligned with reality," said John Thomas, a hospitality law professor at Florida International University's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management who has studied tourism in Cuba. "I don't think Cuba has the resources to do what the prospective expansion is intended to do. I don't think there is demand to support it."
Last month, Istanbul-based Global Ports Holding said it had been tapped to manage Havana's port operations. Capacity will triple in size by 2024, the company said, making it possible for six ships a day to visit — though it's unclear if that would happen.
Details are still hazy, including what size ships would be able to call on the port, what kind of construction will be necessary, and how many people could visit on a busy day. In an announcement, Global Ports Holding said the port has a capacity of two berths and welcomed 328,000 cruise passengers in 2017, a 156 percent
