TLAXCALA, Mexico. – Cuba ranked as the top cultural destination and the second-best in the Caribbean, according to the “Best of the Best” selection by the travel site Tripadvisor. However, it did not appear on the list of the most popular or trendy destinations.
The list compiled by the site is based on destinations whose hotels, restaurants, and activities have received a large number of excellent reviews and comments from travelers over a 12-month period.
According to the review, Cuba is a cultural destination because “it offers incredible opportunities for exchange.” It also emphasizes that “Havana is a mix of old-world architecture and current culture.”
It also refers to Trinidad, a city with Spanish colonial architecture, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and some attractions in the area, such as the Valley of the Sugar Mills, “an area that was once the center of the sugar industry in Cuba.”
The site, which never mentions the critical reality of Cubans, their neighborhoods with buildings collapsing, and the scarcity of food, once again positions Cuba as one of tourists’ favorite destinations.
Cuba also appears on the list of the best Caribbean destinations, although it occupies the second position, behind the Dominican Republic.
It also ranked 18th among gastronomic destinations, according to reviews based, almost entirely, on culinary experiences in private restaurants and Cuban tapas bars.
Tripadvisor and the Image of Cuba
Tripadvisor, with an outdated image gallery, provides misleading advertising about Cuba.
Many tourists have described their trip to Cuba as “a headache” and have even sued travel agencies for selling them that destination.
A Canadian tourist sued the Sunwing agency from her country for selling her a vacation to Cuba last April, which left her “horrified.”
Lang sued the Toronto-based company in Manitoba’s small claims court in an attempt to recover the $8,000 she spent on the trip to Memories Varadero Beach Resort.
At the “all-included” hotel, instead of relaxation and peaceful beach vacations with her mother and five children, she found cockroaches, dirt in common areas, and theft of children’s belongings in their room. Nevertheless, the regime continues to rely on tourism as the main source of income and is building new hotels, at the expense of hospital facilities and schools.
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