travel
Cuba, dominating travel headlines in 2015
In late 2014, a diplomatic rapprochement between the US and Cuba helped open the gates to the island which had been closed off to US tourists for 50 years. – File pic, December 6, 2015.This big travel destination story for 2015 was easily Cuba.
The Caribbean island made headlines repeatedly, with major airlines, cruise lines and booking sites making splashy announcements about their expansion to the newest tourism destination.
In late 2014, a diplomatic rapprochement between the US and Cuba helped open the gates to the island which had been closed off to US tourists for 50 years.
Soon after, the formerly forbidden destination dominated travel headlines.
The pitch? To visit the island before it becomes overrun by US tourists and mass development.
Following the historic move to normalise relations in December of 2014, Airbnb says they saw a 70% spike in searches among US users for listings in Cuba.
Not long after, the short-term vacation rental site opened a listings page that began with a base of 1,000 lodgings across the island.
In July, JetBlue snagged bragging rights to becoming the first major commercial carrier to launch a flight route between New York to Havana.
This month, the airline expanded their service with a second weekly round trip to Cuba from John F Kennedy International Airport.
The world’s largest cruise ship company Carnival Corporation also got onboard and announced plans to launch cruises to Cuba next year, which would see 37,000 guests leave from Miami in full-week sailings hinged on “social impact” travel experiences to developing nations.
Celestyal Cruises from Greece and small ship line Haimark also followed suit, with Cuba-based packages.
And in March, funnyman Conan O’Brien took his late night talk show to Cuba, becoming the first US talk show host to broadcast from the country in 50 years. – AFP, December 6, 2015.
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