Jamaica exploring split-stay vacations with Cuba

Jamaica wants travellers to know that it doesn’t consider Cuba to be competition just because it’s opening its doors to the mass U.S. market.

“We have been competing with Cuba for the last 20 years,” Paul Pennicook, director of tourism, Jamaica Tourist Board told PAX at last week’s Caribbean Travel Marketplace. “We see the opening of the U.S. market to Cuba as an opportunity more so than a threat.”  

The matter of Cuba’s rising popularity as a destination arose in nearly every speech and press conference during the annual tradeshow. The effect the country’s expected boom in tourism would have on its neighbouring countries was similarly brought about.

PAX sat down with Pennicook and Philip Rose, regional director - Canada for the Jamaica Tourist Board to discuss their outlook on the coming year – and what a sudden surge in tourism for Cuba will mean for the Home of All Right.

“We do not expect that our business will all of a sudden decide to move to Cuba,” Pennicook said, explaining that Cuba actually receives more stopover visits (three million in 2014) than Jamaica (two million) in the first place, being a bigger country with more rooms.

“We’re different enough as a product that we can maintain what we have and build on it,” he added. "We have more than beaches. We happen to have a unique, rich cultural heritage.”

Jamaica saw more than 347, 000 Canadians between January and November 2015, and while Rose acknowledged that 2016 was expected to be a challenging year for the destination – citing the Canadian economy as only one outside influence – he was also quick to point out that the group business on the books for 2016 was already outpacing that of 2015.

There has also been exceptional property growth and existing hotel expansions, with 1,200 rooms expected to come online in time for winter 2016.

In October, Cuba’s Minister of Tourism Manuel Marrero stated that 75 per cent of the country’s tourism hails from Canada and Europe, and encouraged both markets not to be discouraged by expectations of overcrowding and overbooking due to increased U.S. tourism.

And although Pennicook admitted that the arrival of U.S. travellers to Cuba may result in an increase in Canadian and European travel to Jamaica - especially in light of the recent room availability issues in Havana - he believes the potential for both countries to enhance their tourism markets could be even more advantageous.

”When you consider markets in the world like Canada, Latin America, Asia and even Europe,” he said, “we see twin destination packages as the way to go.”

The idea consists of visitors spending a portion of their holiday in Cuba before hopping on a quick flight for a several-night stay in Jamaica, effectively splitting their time between both regions and receiving a multicultural travel experience as a result.

Pennicook explained that Cuba sees international inbound arrivals from airlines that Jamaica does not (such as Air France, KLM and Air China,) and a partnership between the two countries would be beneficial to both.

“Jamaica’s Minister for Tourism has already had positive discussions with the Minister of Tourism for Cuba,” he confirmed, “and [they both] agree there is potential there.”

The next step, the director of tourism added, is determining a way to get travellers from Cuba to Jamaica, and then back again.

“We need to get reliable, consistent airlift between Havana and Jamaica,” he said, remarking that Air Jamaica once provided jet service from Montego Bay to Havana twice daily, and there would be benefits to re-establishing that type of service. 

Rose also pointed out that longer vacation times – as well as experiential travel – is becoming the preference for certain groups of travellers, making the idea of back-to-back six-night stays an intriguing one.

“We know that the average Canadian traveller prefers to travel six or seven nights,” he said. “However, what with the aging Canadian population, we’re seeing more and more retirees coming down for longer time periods, so two-week split stays are definitely feasible.”