Fewer Americans are interested in traveling to Cuba this
year, according to a survey from travel insurance firm Allianz Global Assistance.
This year, 13% of respondents said they were interested in
traveling to Cuba, compared to 40% last year, a 27-point drop.
In 2018, 82% of respondents said they are "not likely"
to plan a trip to Cuba, up from 76% in 2017 and 70% in 2016. Those who said
they are "very likely" to plan a trip to Cuba has dropped from 7% in
2016 to 3% in 2018, and those "somewhat likely" also fell from 22% in
2016 to 15% in 2018.
More than half of respondents -- 56.5% -- said they don't
understand current travel restrictions for Cuba. Another 21.2% said they are "somewhat
familiar" with the restrictions, while 22.3% said they did understand
them.
The survey also asked respondents if more cruise itineraries
and expanded airline service between the U.S. and Cuba makes them more interested
in visiting. Most (73.6%) said that didn't change their interest levels, while
18.3% said it made them more interested.
"Our survey found that only 1 percent of Americans
think they will go to Cuba in the next six months, 2 percent believe they will
make it there by the end of 2018 and 5 percent think they will go sometime in
2019," said Daniel Durazo, director of communications at Allianz Global
Assistance USA. "Despite airlines and cruise lines expanding their
services to Cuba, there still seems to be confusion regarding the current
travel restrictions to the country."