“If you pay in dollars or euros, you will find almost everything”

In the midst of the severe economic crisis that Cuba is experiencing, many people think about it before going sightseeing. However, this is the right time for a Spanish journalist to visit the Caribbean country.

in condition Paco Nadal confirmed in the Spanish newspaper El País that many people asked him about the situation in Cuba. This is because when going to book, in some agencies they recommend not to go there.

After a recent trip to the island, Nadal talked about the effects of the pandemic and the shortages of just about everything, from pork, eggs, fuel or sugar. And at the heart of it all, massive hyperinflation.

“The prices of all basic products have risen dramatically, in some cases multiplying by 10. If we add to this that the dual currency system has already disappeared and that now there are only Cuban pesos, if before that you needed 24 pesos to buy one you now need 120 dollars, and that leads to a really bad economic situation,” he says.

However, in his opinion, none of this affects the tourist, who can find everything in euros or dollars. During his stay in Cuba, he visited many hotels, private places, and restaurants of the country and the feeling was natural.

Those yes, they admit it is “a stark contrast to the Cuban reality”.

Reasons to travel to Cuba

Spanish journalist Paco Nadal points out that, after remittances, tourism is Cuba’s second largest source of foreign currency.

“Tourism is a strategic sector for the country. That is why the efforts of the authorities are noticeable so that everything seems normal,” he affirms.

In his view, doing tourism in a country where the population has many shortcomings can represent a moral struggle. However, “if the tourists had not arrived, the population would have had worse times,” as in many other parts of the planet.

“Without tourism, there would be more hunger in the world,” he stresses.

Cuba is a complex island with a political and economic system that is more than vulnerable to criticism. TRUE. But it is a wonderful island, with friendly people, full of life and great places. And they need tourism. That is why, if you are thinking of going to Cuba, my advice is not to stop doing it, ”concludes the article in El País.