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Traveling to Cuba with us on this tour makes a difference, especially to the local staff who work as tour leaders, guides, drivers and hotel staff. Although wages in Cuba are set and strictly controlled by the government we look to provide our local staff with other, non-monetary incentives instead (although of course tips from groups are always welcomed!) – we recently invited one of our more long-standing local leaders over to the UK for a visit and training.
Overseas travel for Cubans is almost unheard of and a trip abroad really is the opportunity of a lifetime for a Cuban. We have also conducted training courses locally for our leaders and provided them with everything from first aid kits and walking boots to mobile phones – consumer goods are very hard to obtain in Cuba so these items are necessary but also gratefully received.
The hotels we use on this tour are all owned by the Cuban government, like all hotels in Cuba, although we avoid the larger resort-style hotels where there is part foreign ownership. Our group size is relatively small, no more than 18, which allows us to use smaller, less polluting buses and also minimizes the impact we have on the places we visit. The local agent we work with on this tour is also locally owned (although ultimately all business in Cuban are ‘owned’ by the Cuban government) and we also recently invited one of the local staff members across to the UK for a visit. The hotels we use generally have policies to limit water use and the vast majority of food is purchased locally. Due to the scarcity of consumer goods in the country, Cubans are excellent at recycling and almost nothing goes to waste (hence the huge number of 1950s American cars that are still driven today – not because Cuban’s are American car fanatics but because keeping them running is necessity).
This small group operator is just celebrating its 30th year and was originally set up to enrich people’s lives through adventure travel. The directors have roots in overland trucking and are determined to keep a pioneering spirit alive. They believe what sets them apart is the strong relationships they’ve developed with local suppliers and tour guides over the years. A tour leader who thinks creatively can turn a good experience into a fantastic one and open up a place so that travelers gain insight into a completely different way of life. They operate in many different countries and try to avoid a blanket approach – their aim is to get customers involved in the projects they visit and to forge lifelong friendships.
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