Cuba is huge opportunity for US travel companies: BCG

Cuba represents a "huge" but challenging opportunity for US cruise, airline and hotel companies as American visitors to the Caribbean island could increase as much as sevenfold by 2025, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group.

As many as 2 million Americans could visit up from 285,000 last year, excluding Cuban Americans, the BCG study published on Wednesday estimated.

Given tourism infrastructure is already creaking, that means there are business opportunities aplenty but US companies must learn to navigate a centrally-planned economy with its quirks.

US travel to Cuba has already surged, albeit from very low levels, in the last two years since the former Cold War foes announced a detente and the Obama administration eased travel restrictions to the island.

"The reality is that US travel to Cuba is in its nascent stages, and all the players are still learning how to make it work," the report read.