Cuba's travel industry on the cusp of change
It's perhaps not the most recognised indicator of change but for me one of the most noticeable impacts of the changes under way in Cuba is lobsters.
I'm not implying Cuba has telepathic crustaceans...simply that five years ago almost no restaurant seemed to know how to cook a lobster properly. Inevitably they'd be overcooked and chewy. Remarkably cheap, but chewy.
However, the tide is now turning and with more Cubans able to set up private restaurants and Cubans returning home with extensive hospitality industry skills and with the prospect of better times ahead, lobster is worth eating, although inevitably the prices have also gone up.
And that's the rub with Cuba ...a few years back when limitations on American tourists were even tighter than they are today and tourism numbers overall were lower, so too were prices. Finding a hotel room was relatively easy and popular tourist sites such as the historic hearts of Havana and Trinidad were refreshingly free of crowds.
But now the rush is on. It seems everyone wants to get to Cuba before the inevitable influx of Americans (an estimated 10 million a year) arrives. At present the US Government still places restrictions on their citizens' ability to visit Cuba (they can't go independently as yet but there's an expanded range of approved special interest tours) but sometime that will change.
In the meantime, it's everyone else who is heading to Cuba – keen to get there before the country changes too drastically. Cuba has no multinational franchises such as McDonalds, KFC or Starbucks. You can't buy Coca Cola and there are a few international standard hotels outside the beach resort areas such as Varadero. And, for the great majority of travellers, this is an essential part of its charm.
The impact of this increase in numbers (about 17 per cent last year) is causing some problems, at least in the short term however, as I have experienced first-hand.
Even before private citizens could offer bed and breakfast accommodation and operate private restaurants as they can now, Cuba's tourist infrastructure was starting to creak under the strain.
This is still a Communist country and the volume and inefficiency of the bureaucracy can be overwhelming. If you visit Cuba with a government-run agency there is a centralised system of booking hotel, transport and other services. Over the last few years I've experienced this imploding under the strain with overbooking of hotel rooms, shortages of guides, incorrect bookings. It's a good thing that Cuba has such great and still reasonably cheap cocktails because I usually have to resort to several of these for medicinal purposes to keep a tour on the rails.
In theory, now that there are private accommodation providers some of these problems should be relieved but now even these new businesses are sometimes struggling to keep up with demand, leading sometimes to overbooking and other problems.
I've arrived in Baracoa, in Cuba's far eastern province, and been told on arrival that the hotel booked for my group has been changed (despite earlier assurances this would not happen) and to be given the news that the hotel we were now assigned to had no bus access so my group would have to climb nearly 100 steps in 35C heat to reach the lobby.
Last year, having finally secured a booking in one of Trinidad's few heritage hotels I was told just days before we were due to fly from New Zealand that the hotel had been exclusively let out to American groups and was unavailable to others - even if was empty. On occasions our Kiwi group was "bumped" from reserved tables at restaurants because they'd been given to Americans instead.
I have also arrived, group in tow, to discover the government-run agency had run out of English-speaking guides and instead had assigned me an Italian speaking one. It took three days of battling to sort this out.
Doing this on the phone to the local office took on a Pythonesque quality.
"I need an English-speaking guide."
"You have one."
"No, I don't. She speaks Italian."
"No, she speaks English."
She told me she has no English, only Italian, while weeping on my shoulder at the airport!"
At which point the rep hung up and a few hours later sent the office "heavy" to sort me out
In a possibly totally inadvertent piece of national stereotyping, an extremely well-built lady marched into the hotel lobby and announced "I am the German-speaking assistant manager...why do you want a new guide?"
It's rather ironic that, considering the long running political stand-off and suspicion between the US and Cuba, it seems some Cubans are now giving US citizens preferential treatment. But it's maybe also understandable: after decades of shortages and almost no money, given the prospect of a higher standard of living, people are keen to cash in. And who can blame them after years of existing on very low wages with few of the consumer goods we take for granted.
However, many Cubans I talked to last time are rather affronted that the rest of the world thinks they are going to let American culture swamp their own distinctive and treasured culture.
"We want their money, yes," said one hotel operator "but we don't want everything that comes with it.
Getting one without the other might not be easy, however. There are rumours that sites along the picturesque and still rather crumbling Havana Malecon (seafront promenade) have already been earmarked by companies like McDonald's.
The upside of the increased interest in Cuba is that the quality and variety of food has improved significantly – and not just the lobster. There's some innovative cuisine developing along with much better service (waiting staff in government-run establishments get paid exactly the same whether they provide quality service or no service at all and sometimes it shows).
Best of all, there's been an astonishing amount of restoration work being done to Cuba's superb architectural heritage, in some cases just in the nick of time as many historic buildings are literally falling down. Havana now boasts chic new cafes, restaurants and bed and breakfast accommodation in renovated houses.
So, how do you tackle Cuba on the cusp of change? The most important thing is don't be panicked into visiting before you've planned properly, particularly in the high season (especially November to March, but July and August can also be busy). The Americans are not there en masse yet but Cuba's popularity is surging so make sure you research carefully before you book anything and then double and triple check that booking before you leave home, or work through an operator who knows what they are doing. Travelling off peak is another way to avoid problems.
Despite the positive changes already evident in Cuba there are still challenges for travellers: there is still a relatively limited range of food and many other consumer goods are in short supply (I queued in a government department store for 30 minutes to get a new electrical plug for a client and there was only one plug in stock), hotels are not always well maintained and telecommunications can be very frustrating with cellphone coverage erratic and few places as yet have wifi.
However, the plusses completely outweigh the negatives for all but the most fussy of travellers. Cuba oozes music and dance; the locals are still genuinely pleased to see you, the history and culture are fascinating and the architecture astonishing. Add to that a tropical climate, relatively cheap prices and a vibrant arts scene.
And if things get fraught just keep in mind that Cubans have been dealing with economic hardship and restrictions for decades so you can manage for a few days. So, just cruise it like the Cubans do and order another cocktail.
Written by Jill Worrall. First appeared on Stuff.co.nz.
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