Cuba to Attend Major Travel Tradeshow in Orlando

Tropical storm Ernesto pounded Cuba last week leaving much of the archipelago unscathed and tourism sites doing business as usual. Cuba has remained strong in the media and the travel industry front.

The Travel Industry Committee on Cuba (TICC) will have a booth and reception at the forthcoming ASTA Trade Show in Orlando, Florida on September 10 to 12.

Booth number 303 near the entrance at the front of the cruise section, en route to the Caribbean booths, will be Cuba’s dedicated exhibition space.

According to coordinator John McAuliff, TICC members support restoration of freedom of travel to Cuba to create the same business opportunity already won by U.S. farmers. "TICC also works to implement the pro-normalization views of two-thirds of Americans and to foster mutual understanding and the peaceful transition of relations".

Those who regard Cuba’s tourism as an infant trade may want to check and confirm it had already gained Approved Destination Status (ADS) from China, a tourism market booming in numbers and disposable income.

According to Jose Francisco Perez, general manager for the Cuba Tourism Board, the island nation wants to develop its tourism program through the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).

"Several islands operating under the CTO get their business very well promoted. We are working together with the organization in order to generate more business through them", Mr. Perez explained.

In parallel, the tourism board has actively attended road shows not only in the Caribbean region but elsewhere in Europe. Due to Cuba’s presence in trade shows, Perez confirmed to have increased charters from Europe (like Frankfurt in Germany) to Veradero and La Havana. Mexico flights have been bumped up to serve more tourists who come via Mexico and spend one to two weeks on the islands.

In 1990, Cuba ranked number 23 in the Caribbean region in visitor terms and 21 in terms of revenues, receiving 340,000 guests equal to 3 percent of tourists to the region. In 2010, Cuba projects tourist numbers to shoot up to 3.5 million up to 4 million.