Cuba Seeking to Recover Tourism

Cuban authorities are making huge efforts to recover tourism, despite the Covid-19 pandemic and under strict health protection protocols.

These ideas point above all to the main reopened hotels, such as Jardines del Rey -a group of keys that make up the eastern part of the Sabana-Camagüey archipelago, the largest and most numerous of the four that surround the island of Cuba.

And even more so those reopened in the famous resort of Varadero, headquarters for the 40^th International Tourism Fair of Cuba, FITCuba 2022, in the Plaza América venue from May 3-7.

The island's Ministry of Tourism (Mintur) aims at receiving about 4.5 million international visitors in 2020 and reverse the 9.3% drop in 2019, when 4.2 million traveled to the country, 436 352 fewer compared to 2018, according to official data.

A health system of recognized international prestige, with the addition of its own vaccines against the pandemic, consolidated the possibility of reopening the travel industry as of November 15^th.

Mintur opportunely argued that Cuba is one of the few destinations that has a doctor, a nurse and an epidemiologist in each facility, and established a certification called Tourism, plus hygiene and very safe, essential for an establishment to restart operating in the country.

It’s a certificate that grants a commission made up of the Ministries of Health and Tourism, and it’s a guarantee for the future of this sector on the island.

TOURISM AGAINST PRESSURES

Last February 3^rd marked the 60^th anniversary of the officialization of the economic, financial, and commercial blockade of the United States against Cuba, and tourism is one of the main sectors hit.

Back then, the president, John F. Kennedy, signed a document that already had strong precedents since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 and set a precedent, reinforced today.

The blockade affects all spheres of the island society, as the Cuban authorities specify, and the travel industry has a Sword of Damocles over its head for this reason.

The document updating the effects of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba, which lasted from April to December 2020, specified that the travel industry was a target of recurring attack.

The measures adopted in recent years was added the suspension of charter or private flights from the United States to all of Cuba, except Havana, whose occurrences were also limited.

Authorization to people subject to U.S. jurisdiction to attend or organize professional meetings or conferences in Cuba was also eliminated. Another limitation was to suspend the carrying out of transactions related to public performances, clinics, workshops, exhibitions, sports competitions, and others.

In addition, the banning of the arrival of U.S. cruise ships to Cuba since 2019, the restrictions on flights, the elimination of expedited channels for sending remittances and the suspension of the family reunification program, appear in the impacts.

HOPE RESTING ON FITCUBA 2022

The 40^th International Tourism Fair is projected as the best in the sector held in this Caribbean nation, according to Mintur.

The directors of the sector express their confidence that Cuba will recover the levels of operations achieved before Covid-19, and praise the dedication of doctors, scientists, and health personnel in tackling with the pandemic.

Cuba received in 2021 the visit of 573 944 international travelers, according to data from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI). The figure represents 39.8% of those who arrived in the country in 2020 and is equivalent to 869,181 fewer tourists, although Cuba exhibited a slight recovery in the sector since mid-November.

The Russian Federation was the main issuer, with 146 151 visitors, and the only market that matched the numbers of the previous year and also grew, this before the war in Ukraine and the Western sanctions against Moscow since last February.

Canada, the country from which the largest number of tourists came to the Antillean island, was in second place, followed by the Cuban community abroad and Spain.

Cuba projected to receive around 2.2 million travelers in 2021, but the outbreak of Covid-19 that affected the Caribbean nation from the beginning of the year and grew exponentially until September, harshly affected the expected recovery back then.

For this year, the tourism sector expects 2.5 million visitors, who should contribute about 1,159 million dollars to the national economy, according to the Minister of Economy and Planning, Alejandro Gil, before the Cuban Parliament.

Until now, Varadero has reaffirmed itself as the main hub in the country, with an average daily stay of 13,000 tourists, 77% foreigners and the rest nationals, according to the Mintur representative in that territory, Ivis Fernández.

Despite the global epidemiological situation, during the year-end festivities, 24,000 vacationers arrived in Varadero, when 21,000 were expected, said the official.

FITCuba 2022, the most important professional event in the country's tourism industry, predicts that the goals can be fulfilled if the attention shown by travel agents and tour operators from around the world to the island's recreational landscape is taken into account.