Tourism and local businessmen, alliances are "devised" in Havana

Perhaps it took more time than expected, sometimes due to bureaucracy, misunderstandings, or inefficiencies that need to be eliminated, or perhaps due to the limitations imposed by the fact that we are a nation being harassed by the most powerful and cynical neighbor nation, but local development is a real commitment in Cuba today. Hence, encouraging alliances are being devised between state-owned agencies and new forms of economic management.

Among the many examples that prove it right, the First Business Round of the local businessmen community of Havana for Tourism is registered, being Thursday the second and last day. Over 150 state-owned companies, Local Development Projects, SMEs, Non-Agricultural Cooperatives, Credit and Services Cooperatives, creators of the Cuban Fund for Cultural Assets and self-employed workers, shared views with directors and officials of the Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR) the productions and services that could be useful for the upcoming high tourism season.

Diversity, youth, and a huge will to do things in and for Cuba, converged in the areas of the Marcelo Salado Social Center in the municipality of Playa. During the opening session, the Government’s Coordinator in the province, Luis Carlos Góngora Domínguez, detailed:

"Producers of construction materials, repairers of heating and cooling equipment, builders, laundries, decorators, gardeners, producers of fresh and processed or semi-processed foods, computer services, manufacturers of cleaning products and cleaning are part of this large group of companies.”

The First Deputy Minister of MINTUR, María del Carmen Orellana, toured Wednesday morning the exhibition stands located in a hall that seemed small among so many people talking, exchanging views, going all around, aiming at connecting with each other, the famous "productive chain," which is being publicly praised, but not fully trusted just yet…And it could actually be another of the positive outcomes from spaces like this.

We will know later how much it contributed to strengthening an area on which a good part of the income received by our economy relies on, so let's not fool ourselves, its happy ending favors us all. We hope that it may well be an inspiration for other sectors to approach the local business community, and hopefully, not only in Havana.

In Gongora’s words, the precedents of this experience are to be found in the Local Development Fair held at ExpoCuba last April, where the government of Havana served as a bridge to engage in exchanges of this kind, which are taking place “when the nation is navigating through trouble waters. So everything we do to improve our country is something praiseworthy. Doing the best for Cuba and thinking about the resistance of our people and the indispensable quest to progress, despite accidents, natural disasters, and evil attempts to destroy us: encourage us and compels us to improve.”

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff