“Auténtica Cuba” Tourism Caravan

Private management complements Cuban tourism offer.

After presenting several destinations of the Caribbean island in various Spanish cities, the promotional caravan "Auténtica Cuba(Authentic Cuba)" ended in Madrid, with the participation of important tourism groups and Spanish hotel chains. As a novelty, for the first time there were officially presented private accommodations and restaurants. About the campaign, the Cuban Ambassador to Madrid, Eugenio Martínez Henríquez, spoke with CND.

This promotional caravan visited cities like Santiago de Compostela, Guijón, Pamplona, Murcia, Sevilla and ends here in Madrid, what can you say about its impact on the Spanish outbound market?

I have been able to participate in some of the more than ten presentations carried out in Spain, and it has been seen that the interest about Cuba is growing. We are two very close nations; with historical and cultural bonds that no one can destroy, and increases the interest on our island as its potential continue to develop. We have 15 cities with more than 400 years of history, 500 superb beaches, 1,500 keys, 5 musical rhythms created in Cuba that are included in the list of Intangible World Heritage. It is the country that invented light rum 151 years ago and retains and uses the same barrels where it was created, –elaborated by Master Rum Maker grandchildren of those who invented it, without any artificial process. Nowadays, Cuba has developed more than 100 vaccines and medicines that include recombinant streptokinase for acute myocardial infarction patients, and the first therapeutic vaccine for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers which allows you to reduce or eliminate the risk of amputation.

Cuba was the first third world country to fulfill the UN Millennium Development Goals, 15 years before the date, is the country where 41 years ago the first national polio vaccination campaign was carried out, and at present all children are immunized for free against the major existing diseases. All children attend school for free during 13 years, there they have lunch, snack and textbooks and they all have the possibility to continue their studies in universities for free.

In Cuba there is not selling of firearms or a black market to circulate them,there is no Mafia, there are no gangs. Our people is educated, cheerful and hospitable, in one of the countries with greater citizen safety of the world. Spaniards are better received in Cuba than in any other country. Cuba is authentic, as it has shown today’s presentation and awaits you with open arms. As a famous commercial slogan says, there is no money that can pay for the Cuban experience.

We hope this campaign, as it promises, will contribute to a closer rapprochement between our two countries and to increase tourism, which is in short the relationship between our two peoples deeply linked by culture and history.

For the first time around, private accommodations and facilities were officially announced in these presentations.

It is known that more than 400,000 Cubans work independently of the State. The figures displayed to the tour operators in the presentation showed that since the reordering of the economy there are more than 2,000 restaurants and 6,000 rooms. Private management in gastronomy and accommodation is already part and complement of the Cuban tourism product and Cuba has the disposition of supporting this offer and increase it.

The Cuban Ambassador and Dulce María Sánchez, tourism advisor from the Embassy, were exchanging ideas. The Conference included programs of the operators working in the destination, novelties about products and services, and modalities of Sun and Beach, Ecotourism, Cultural tourism, and others. Airlines Cubana de Aviacion, Air Europa and AIR France; hotel chains Melia, Iberostar, Roc hotels, Be Live, Blau H, HUSA and Barceló; and tour operators Havanatur Guama, Travelplan, Barceló V, Cathay and Onlinetours were among the participants.