Americans Can't Wait to Go to Cuba
Airbnb, the world's leading community driven hospitality company, has announced the results of a poll completed with YouGov showing that the gradual easing of travel restrictions is making Cuba a more attractive travel destination for Americans.
Thirty percent of US adults are planning or would consider a trip to Cuba in the next two years, according to the poll. One in five (20 percent) said that this is because of the relaxed restrictions and 27 percent said they are more interested in visiting Cuba since President Obama announced the policy changes last December.
The fact that US travel businesses like Airbnb have started to offer services in Cuba is another factor driving interest. Twenty-eight percent of US adults are now more interested in making a trip as a result of Airbnb and other travel companies opening their doors to facilitate travel to Cuba.
"We believe that Cuba could become one of Airbnb's biggest markets in Latin America," said Kay Kuehne, regional director for Airbnb. "This research shows that more and more Americans are starting to factor Cuba into their future travel plans and we know that our new Cuban community is looking forward to hosting them."
In April, Airbnb announced that it would start offering accommodations to licensed US travelers visiting Cuba and that it had over 1,000 listings on the island. Airbnb has been able to tap into Cuba's existing infrastructure of casa particulares – traditional private home-stays – to offer visitors an authentic and local experience. US travelers booking travel on Airbnb will be required to attest that they are traveling to Cuba under one of the twelve license categories permitted by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
For Airbnb, Cuba is already one of the company's most searched for destinations in Latin America. In fact, the poll found that Cuba is among the top five Latin American and Caribbean countries that Americans most want to visit (behind The Bahamas, Brazil, Jamaica and Argentina). Two thirds (65 percent) of those who said in the poll that they are considering a trip to Cuba would go so far as to change their existing travel plans to factor this in.
Historical architecture (28 percent) and local culture (30 percent) are amongst the biggest attractions in Cuba for Americans, along with its beaches (33 percent) and food (28 percent).
Additionally, millennials and Hispanic Americans are most attracted to travel in Cuba, with over a third (36 percent) of 18 to 34 year olds considering a trip in the next two years and 40 percent of Hispanic Americans surveyed planning or considering a visit.
The research was conducted by YouGov on behalf of Airbnb between 23-24 April 2015. The total sample size was 1,108 US adults. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all US adults aged 18+.
Source: Caribbean News Now
