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Tourism: Cuba relies on authenticity
While Cuba, mired in a deep economic crisis, relies heavily on tourism, the number of visitors has fallen by half since the Covid-19 pandemic. How does the island try to attract new customers? Towards Cayo Jutías, 5 hours from Havana.
(France 2)
While Cuba, mired in a deep economic crisis, relies heavily on tourism, the number of visitors has fallen by half since the Covid-19 pandemic. How does the island try to attract new customers? Towards Cayo Jutías, five hours from Havana.
Cayo Jutías (Cuba) is a preserved island isolated from the world. Reinie Hernandez Lloret, a 31-year-old Cuban fisherman, grew up here. “I’ve been fishing since I was 15 years old. (…) I swim two kilometers from the coast, walk one kilometer along the reef and come back. I sell the fish I catch and can feed my family.”, he confides. Not many tourists come to discover this oasis of calm, five hours’ drive from Havana.
Lobster, local specialty
After 200 km of driving, Cayo Jutías appears like a mirage. The Cubans have built only the bare minimum here: a beach restaurant near a metal lighthouse, built by a French engineer. “We have always made sure that this place remains as natural as possible”explains Abel Torres, bartender. In the kitchen we prepare the Cuban specialty: lobster with salt and pepper, fished a few kilometers away and sold for 7 euros a piece.
Isolated, under American embargo since 1962, Cuba He had no choice but to cultivate his authenticity and even make it his trademark. In 2023 it attracted 2.5 million foreign visitors, half the number before Covid-19. The future of the island is hidden behind the postcard: Cuba is in a deep economic crisis and is hoping for the return of its tourists.
