Next stop CUBA:
When President Obama announced that the U.S. and Cuba were restoring diplomatic relations this past December, U.S. companies took notice. Then in January, the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Treasury released new rules allowing U.S. citizens to visit Cuba without special permits.
While most U.S.-based hotel companies will not publicly talk about how they are preparing for a potentially big development opportunity, a few industry experts have shared their views.
“There will be strong expectations,” says Steve Joyce, CEO, Choice Hotels International, Rockville, Maryland. “Miles of untouched real estate will become incredibly competitive and we want to have properties underway as soon as possible after the trade embargo is lifted and the door is truly open.
Meeting expectation
The key question for American companies should indeed revolve around the large amounts of traffic that the U.S. will send to Cuba.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Cuba received 2.8 mil- lion tourists in 2012. The Dominican Republic, half the size of Cuba, received 4.7 million tour- ists in 2013. With a population of 300 million people, a third of which own a passport, the U.S. will likely make a considerable footprint.
However, the shake-up will not happen over- night. Zozaya believes cruise ships will be the first big hospitality engines to take advantage of the new travel region while hotels will use the existing infrastructure and reflag with franchises then implement new management.
“The size of the opportunity is great - as great the growth of the market in the Caribbean and Latin America,” Zozaya adds. “We can expect to see growth similar to the one we have seen in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic or in the Riviera Maya in Mexico. Cuba could grow 5,000 rooms per year over the next 10 years.”
Source: HOTELS magazine
