Cuba’s Tourism Minister says Canada remains Cuba’s “top priority”

Cuba's Tourism Minister says Canada remains Cuba's "top priority"
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Posted by Francesca Spizzirri

HAVANA — Last year Cuba welcomed 3.5 million visitors, 1.3 million of
which were Canadian in spite of a decline in travellers due to the drop
in Canadian currency and a mild winter.

"Cuba has a long history of friendship with Canada and we will never
forget Canada's support," said Cuba's Tourism Minister, Manuel Marrero,
who opened the 36th annual FITCuba tourism fair on May 3. Putting to
rest any concerns that the Canadian market will be displaced with the
country's increase in arrivals, particularly American, the Minister went
on to say, "Canada has been Cuba's #1 outbound market since 1998. 44% of
Cuba's arrivals are repeat customers. Canada is a crucial market to us
and remains our top priority."

As travel restrictions are slowly lifted on U.S. travellers, the
interest to visit Cuba has resulted in a 17% increase in travellers in
2015 (161,233 of which were American), as well as a 13% increase in the
number of tourists staying in facilities affiliated with the Ministry of
Tourism. The total tourism revenue in 2015 was US$2.8 billion. To date
Cuba has welcomed over one million foreign tourists, a 13.5% surge over
the same period last year.

Cuba is a popular destination and growing quickly noted the Minister.
"Improving our tourism product is our top priority. We have 126 new
investment projects in the works, 76 of which are foreign management
joint hotel ventures signed with 17 international chains. Another 23
contracts will be authorized soon. We are speeding up all investment
projects in order to meet hotel demands."

While new hotel product in Cuba is currently coming at a rate of 2,400
rooms per year, by 2019 that figure should double to 5,000 rooms per
year. One-third of the tourist reception capacity will be led by Gaviota
Tourism Group, which plans to add 30 new hotels by 2018. The demand is
huge, especially in Havana, particularly for four- and five-star
product. Minister Marrero also noted that priorities include restoring
and updating existing facilities, in addition to building new properties.

Another way in which Cuba will meet growing demand is through the
non-state sector as a complement to state-run tourism. "Cuba has one
type of tourism in which all forms of management participate equally,"
stated the Minister. This includes 16,000 rooms, 1,700 private
restaurants (Paladares) and 18 non-agricultural cooperatives.

Cuba's docking facilities are also undergoing expansion and construction
projects to meet the growing demand of cruise ships, managed mainly by
Canadian and European companies. May 1 saw the arrival of Fathom, which
sailed from Miami to Havana, the first cruise ship to sail off the U.S.
coast in over half a century. The Havana airport – in addition to other
airports across Cuba – will undergo an expansion to accommodate the
increase in air service to Cuba, including direct flights between
Beijing and Havana.

Ms. Bardish Chagger, Minister of Tourism Canada, met with Cuban
government officials and representatives of small- and medium-sized
Canadian enterprises based in Cuba to promote trade. Minister Chagger
spoke of the strong and enduring friendship between the two nations and
announced an internship program between Cuba and Canada, though no dates
were confirmed.

During Canada's honourary luncheon, Minister Marrero spoke about the
successful meetings with Canadian tour operators. "We reviewed customer
surveys and discussed the issues Canadian travellers have when traveling
to Cuba and we are committed to improving Cuba's hotel and food
services." He also stated that ground handling services would not
increase for Canadian tour operators.

FITCuba 2016 was attended by 53 countries and 173 journalists, including
200 travel industry reps from the United States, making it the largest
attendance in its history.

Source: Tourism Minister says Canada remains Cuba's "top priority" -
http://www.travelweek.ca/news/cubas-tourism-minister-says-canada-remains-cubas-top-priority/