Fourth International Conference on Tourism and Leisure Studies

Abstract

Cuba is experiencing an accelerated tourism growth, especially since 2014, which saw the beginning of the new controversial diplomatic relations with the United States, after a half century of pacific enmity. In this new scenery, Havana has become one of the most visited city in the Caribbean Region, receiving more than a half of the annual tourism arrivals of the country. Cuba´s tourism strategy is not taking advantage of this new scenery, although the archipelago´s need to move away from its image as a traditional sun and beach destination, which justify academic attention. This research aims to analyse constraining factors for tourism loyalty to Havana destination. In this attempt, we conducted 1500 face-to-face surveys to travelers from six nationalities (main outbound tourism markets) in Havana airport in 2015, during their so call cultural trip. We differentiated three sampling groups of cultural travelers: repeaters not willing to return (BCL), tourists visiting Havana for the first time with positive intentions to repurchase the destination (CCL), and repeaters with positive intentions (MCL). Cluster analysis and Logit regression models served to define a profile for each group of loyal cultural tourists, and analyse the diverse factors affecting their cultural experience and attitudes towards the destination. The results are useful for destination managers for a better understanding of the areas that require special attention in terms of tourism policy, in the attempt to promote a more sustainable development of Havana as a cultural destination.