European travel agents in Cuba for tourism convention

Nearly 400 travel agents and tourism professionals from Spain and Portugal will participate this week in the DIT Gestión Macro Annual Convention, to be held until May 7 in Santa Maria Key, Villa Clara province.

The group is headed by John Arriaga, president of Spanish tour operator DIT Gestión, who explained that the event began to be planned half a year ago to promote the sale of Cuba as a destination.

Niurka Pérez, the tourism counselor of the largest Antillean Island in Spain, pointed out that it will be a great opportunity for the country's tourism sector as it is the first event of its kind to be held in Cuba.

"These 384 agents are the ones who sell the Cuba destination and will be able to explain to the client what they will find here beyond the most booming areas, which are Havana and Varadero," she said.

She added that it will serve to boost the flow of Spanish and Portuguese tourists to the nation, "a great challenge we have, as these are among the top 10 markets in Europe," she said.

For her part, Cristina Carvallo, a GMT Tours agent who is part of the visiting delegation, expressed her excitement at the possibility of getting to know everything Cuba has to offer as a vacation destination.

José Lobo, from the Sevillian agency Migtour, pointed out that what Spaniards demand the most is to experience the essence of the country, its culture, the opportunity to disconnect from their daily lives and get to know new horizons, for which Cuba represents a great option.

The commercial director of the Cuban Ministry of Tourism, Gihana Galindo said that on May 2 the visiting agents will participate in the FitCuba 2023 International Tourism Fair and then they will join the convention on May 4 in Santa Maria Key.

She stressed that the event will include representatives from all the provinces of the country who will exhibit the most genuine of each territory.