Canadians vs. Americans in Cuba

We seem to be on a roll with Cuba posts.

Just read an article in the Canadian Globe and Mail about Canadians worried about an “Invasion of the American Tourists” to Cuba. It must have been a slow news day, or some Canadians are really whiney. Or is Canada upset about losing tourist dollars flowing into Toronto and Montreal from the currently “illegal” American tourists to Cuba who fly from those Canadian cities?

From what we saw in Havana and elsewhere, the Italian and German tourists were generally a lot more annoying than were Americans. The Canadians there were certainly “good” tourists, as were the many Scandinavians and Brits we encountered. It really seems disingenuous of the Canadian visitors to Cuba to want to keep it “[their] own little island.” The article does go on to point out that many other Canadians are just fine with American tourism to Cuba.

Travel is great for everyone. It broadens our horizons in much more than a physical sense. Certainly I don’t like some tourists, from any country – but that’s about the individuals, not classing them as a dislikable group. And having lived in tourist towns in the U.S., we have also witnessed the “idiot tourist” mentality first hand – but mostly those folks have given us a laugh much more often than they have disturbed us.

Oh, well, as we said. Must have been a slow news day in Canada.