Cuban businesses will be taking CAD, US, and euros

Cuba-bound Canadians who are reluctant to use credit cards when abroad will soon no longer have to worry about seeking out currency exchanges upon arriving in the Caribbean country.

Cuban officials are transitioning their island to one that will see the likes of restaurants, bars, stores and tour companies accept Canadian and American dollars and European euros, ending the need for non-credit card-using Canadians to first convert their money to Cuban pesos before making purchases. The move is expected to be completed by mid-August.

“Sometimes people asked, ‘What kind of money do I need to bring?’ Now, it’s Canadian dollars,” Lessner Gomez, the tourist board’s Canadian director said during a Toronto gathering with the president and vice-president of Cuban tourism powerhouse Gaviota, which includes hotels and other aspects of Cuba’s tourism infrastructure among its holdings.

“If you want to pay with credit cards, you can. But if you want to pay with (Canadian) cash, you can. You decide which. It’s up to you,” Gomez added of the impending change.

Tourists frequently find having to change their money in a foreign country a nuisance and the upcoming move is expected to be a considerable convenience for Canadians visiting Cuba.

The move comes in the wake of a Cuban tourism trade that is well rebounding from Covid, with 600,000 Canadians visiting the island in the first 6 months of 2024, and officials hoping to see a 1 million Canadians by the end of this year.

Those planning to visit this year will find more Gaviota lodging options, with the company on the verge of a spate of hotel openings, some of them in Cuba’s capital. The 219-room Metropolis is scheduled to open in Havana before the arrival of 2025, and will be the second Old Havana hotel falling under the umbrella of upscale European chain Kempinski.

Opening in November will be a 594-room Iberostar, which will be Havana’s tallest structure, while this year will also see the arrival of the Muthu Tower. Another hotel called Real Aduana will open at Havana’s waterfront area shortly after the end of 2024.

Early 2025 will also the upscale Havana Hotel Corona add 147 rooms to Havana’s hotel inventory. It will be part of Turkish chain ATG.

Gaviota is also opening hotels in Holguin, where another Muthu property will open in 2025 on Yuraguanal Beach, while an as yet unnamed resort will open in Ramon de Antillas.

Frank Oltuski, Gaviota’s vice-president of marketing, reported that many of Gaviota’s other properties are being refurbished, with some of those properties being in Havana while others are in resort destinations.

Gaviota works with approximately 16 foreign hotel chains. Some 80% of Gaviota hotel rooms are managed by foreign hotel companies.

Oltuski also reported that a relaxation of guidelines means it will be easier for foreign money to open restaurants in Cuba, with Gomez in turn suggesting that some Canadian restaurant chains might now be interested in a Cuban presence, which will appeal to Canadians who like some familiarity while on foreign vacations.

That could encourage more Canadians who are staying in all-inclusive resorts to venture outside the resort grounds for dining, he said, adding he’s personally spoken to one Toronto restaurant chain that was asking about a Cuba presence.

“The door is open,”added Gomez of foreign money funding new restaurants.

Gomez added that Cuban Wifi is being enhanced, with those staying in beach resorts now finding Wifi is available on the beach.

Gaviota is working with Blue Diamond hotels by offering specialty music festivals and opening a new hotel brand called resonance, which will be offering music and entertainment for young people in one section and relaxation and wellness in the other.

It also plans to open training schools all over the island to for employees, who will have the “best teachers from the island to give excellent service.”

Meanwhile, Gaviota president Carlos Latuff said Canadian visits to Cuba are a major boost to the Cuban economy and Cuba is committed to them having enjoyable stays.

“We want to give you the best service. We really need Canadian tourists to come to Cuba,” he said, praising the “long-standing friendship” between Canadian tourists and those who work in Cuba’s tourism trade.