Carley Rojas Avila
Wealth of Geeks
Wealth of Geeks
Approximately 1 million people from the United States and Canada visited Cuba last year. Take even a cursory glance down the bustling, vibrant streets of Old Havana, Cuba, filled with visitors escaping cold weather back home, and you’ll notice something fascinating: millennial travelers galore. But where is everyone else?
Havana’s millennial appeal is more than just imagination: a recent study reveals that the colorful capital of Cuba is among the top dream destinations for North American travelers. While older travelers, mainly Canadians and Russians, continue to flock to Cuba’s long-loved beach resorts, hip Havana draws millennials more than many comparable destinations. Its appeal extends far beyond the “Instagrammability” of its vintage convertibles, sunny skies, and aging architecture.
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Havana’s millennial hype
Among the interesting and revealing statistics from the report, Havana, Cuba, was among the most popular close-to-home destinations in North America with millennial travelers. The preferences of other generations of travelers varied significantly.
Younger Gen-Z travelers and older baby boomers didn’t name Havana among their top travel destinations. Instead, results revealed other popular destinations, including the U.S. Virgin Islands, among travelers of every generation. The posh Cayman Islands appeal increasingly to older travelers, while Gen-Z travelers, looking for unique international getaways, added adventurous destinations like Greenland to their lists.
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The making of a millennial traveler
While the study didn’t dive into respondents’ motivations for selecting their dream destinations, recent research behind millennial travel trends hints at the causes of Havana’s popularity. In a 2017 millennial survey, data showed the importance of “Instagrammability” to millennial travelers, with more than 40% of the generation identifying it as an important factor in travel destination selection.
However, Havana’s colorful facades and classic cars are just the start of how the locale aligns with visitors’ travel priorities. Havana is home to enlightening opportunities for all excursionists — a cool array of Havana restaurants that appeal to food-loving travelers, nearby waterfall hikes for adventurous explorers, and a legendary art scene for the culturally curious.
As millennials age — members of the generation are between 28 and 43 years old — the respective range of life stages becomes increasingly diverse. Havana seems suited to cater to it all. A pulsing nightlife scene for younger members of the generation coexists with proximity to beach resorts suited to families, while short flight times to the U.S. are popular with all travelers, particularly those exploring the island with kids.
Overall, Havana’s rich, complex, and layered culture appeals to all millennial travelers. Like few other destinations in the Caribbean, Cuba’s capital perfectly combines city and beach – especially nearby Varadero, considered among the best beaches in the world — for travelers craving a relaxing, amenity-rich resort escape without leaving the benefits of a city break behind.
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How to travel to Cuba
However, stigma and confusion surrounding the legality of travel to Cuba from the United States remain, namely among the older generation. Many wonder if Cuba is “open” to the United States for travel, particularly in the wake of U.S.-Cuba policy changes made during the years of the Trump Administration.
While American travelers still need a reason to travel to Cuba — pure tourism is, semantically at least, still off limits — there are plenty of ways to tour Cuba legally. To visit the island to “support the Cuban people” by spending money at locally-owned boutique hotels and guesthouses, with local tour agencies, and engaging with the island’s immense cultural resources, is a legally valid reason to travel to Cuba.
Globetrotting millennials tend to seek elements similar to these; a recent American Express Travel survey found that 86% of Gen-Z and millennial respondents want to shop at small businesses and support small local businesses when they travel to a new location.
Travelers planning a trip to Cuba must remember a few essential restrictions before booking their tickets. For example, a select few resorts and hotels in Cuba, partially or entirely owned by the Cuban government, are off-limits to American travelers. American travelers will also need to travel to the island with cash in hand, as the sixty-year economic blockade of the island means that U.S. debit and credit cards won’t work in Cuba. However, for travelers who are OK dealing with these logistics, visiting this destination that once seemed so far away is easier than ever.
—————
Off-limits?
Cuba’s “off-limits feel” may further Havana’s appeal as a destination for younger travelers. The same American Express Travel survey found that 79% of Gen-Z and millennial travelers expressed interest in discovering places that family and friends have never visited or might not expect to visit. After years of travel to the island being such a challenge, Cuba certainly fits that bill.
More than just feeling far off, Cuba’s small tourist industry relative to nearby islands enhances that feeling. Cuba remains relatively untouched compared to the overbuilt Caribbean islands, with even some of the country’s most famous beachfronts practically bare. It’s the type of destination that millennial travelers can get behind, though members of other generations will also find much to love in Havana.
Havana’s millennial appeal is more than just imagination: a recent study reveals that the colorful capital of Cuba is among the top dream destinations for North American travelers. While older travelers, mainly Canadians and Russians, continue to flock to Cuba’s long-loved beach resorts, hip Havana draws millennials more than many comparable destinations. Its appeal extends far beyond the “Instagrammability” of its vintage convertibles, sunny skies, and aging architecture.
—————
Havana’s millennial hype
Among the interesting and revealing statistics from the report, Havana, Cuba, was among the most popular close-to-home destinations in North America with millennial travelers. The preferences of other generations of travelers varied significantly.
Younger Gen-Z travelers and older baby boomers didn’t name Havana among their top travel destinations. Instead, results revealed other popular destinations, including the U.S. Virgin Islands, among travelers of every generation. The posh Cayman Islands appeal increasingly to older travelers, while Gen-Z travelers, looking for unique international getaways, added adventurous destinations like Greenland to their lists.
—————
The making of a millennial traveler
While the study didn’t dive into respondents’ motivations for selecting their dream destinations, recent research behind millennial travel trends hints at the causes of Havana’s popularity. In a 2017 millennial survey, data showed the importance of “Instagrammability” to millennial travelers, with more than 40% of the generation identifying it as an important factor in travel destination selection.
However, Havana’s colorful facades and classic cars are just the start of how the locale aligns with visitors’ travel priorities. Havana is home to enlightening opportunities for all excursionists — a cool array of Havana restaurants that appeal to food-loving travelers, nearby waterfall hikes for adventurous explorers, and a legendary art scene for the culturally curious.
As millennials age — members of the generation are between 28 and 43 years old — the respective range of life stages becomes increasingly diverse. Havana seems suited to cater to it all. A pulsing nightlife scene for younger members of the generation coexists with proximity to beach resorts suited to families, while short flight times to the U.S. are popular with all travelers, particularly those exploring the island with kids.
Overall, Havana’s rich, complex, and layered culture appeals to all millennial travelers. Like few other destinations in the Caribbean, Cuba’s capital perfectly combines city and beach – especially nearby Varadero, considered among the best beaches in the world — for travelers craving a relaxing, amenity-rich resort escape without leaving the benefits of a city break behind.
—————
How to travel to Cuba
However, stigma and confusion surrounding the legality of travel to Cuba from the United States remain, namely among the older generation. Many wonder if Cuba is “open” to the United States for travel, particularly in the wake of U.S.-Cuba policy changes made during the years of the Trump Administration.
While American travelers still need a reason to travel to Cuba — pure tourism is, semantically at least, still off limits — there are plenty of ways to tour Cuba legally. To visit the island to “support the Cuban people” by spending money at locally-owned boutique hotels and guesthouses, with local tour agencies, and engaging with the island’s immense cultural resources, is a legally valid reason to travel to Cuba.
Globetrotting millennials tend to seek elements similar to these; a recent American Express Travel survey found that 86% of Gen-Z and millennial respondents want to shop at small businesses and support small local businesses when they travel to a new location.
Travelers planning a trip to Cuba must remember a few essential restrictions before booking their tickets. For example, a select few resorts and hotels in Cuba, partially or entirely owned by the Cuban government, are off-limits to American travelers. American travelers will also need to travel to the island with cash in hand, as the sixty-year economic blockade of the island means that U.S. debit and credit cards won’t work in Cuba. However, for travelers who are OK dealing with these logistics, visiting this destination that once seemed so far away is easier than ever.
—————
Off-limits?
Cuba’s “off-limits feel” may further Havana’s appeal as a destination for younger travelers. The same American Express Travel survey found that 79% of Gen-Z and millennial travelers expressed interest in discovering places that family and friends have never visited or might not expect to visit. After years of travel to the island being such a challenge, Cuba certainly fits that bill.
More than just feeling far off, Cuba’s small tourist industry relative to nearby islands enhances that feeling. Cuba remains relatively untouched compared to the overbuilt Caribbean islands, with even some of the country’s most famous beachfronts practically bare. It’s the type of destination that millennial travelers can get behind, though members of other generations will also find much to love in Havana.
