Cuba-US Travel Conference is taking place in Cancun
The Gran Meliá Cancun Hotel is host of the First US-Cuba Travel Conference taking place October 16 through 19, under the auspices of the Association of Travel-Related Industry Professionals (ATRIP). The gathering is aimed at finding ways to promote American tourism to the neighboring island.
Several US travel agencies and organizations such as USA-ENGAGE, National Foreign Council, US-CUBA Trade Association, ABC Charters, Cuba Travel Services and Marazul Charters, among others, co-sponsor the meeting.
Over the past few years, different polls and research have showed deep changes in US public opinion, which has increasingly favored the elimination of the travel ban, a measure that violates US citizens’ rights, a ministerial press hand out says.
For four years in a row, the US House of Representatives has passed – with a wide margin of votes – amendments to eliminate those regulations. The most recent, on September l9, resulted in a 227-188 vote in favor of abolishing the restrictions.
The Cuban Tourism Ministry sees the Cancun Conference as a landmark in the analysis and debate on the issue, and US congress people whose actions have been aimed at modifying the current regulations, in force for more than 40 years.
A large number of companies and agencies from the US travel industry are attending the meeting, among them airlines, cruise ship companies, associations of tour operators and travel agencies, hotel chains and representatives of the international and specialized media.
Cuban Tourism Minister Ibrahim Ferradaz García is heading the Cuban delegation, which is made up of leaders and officials from the tourism industry and Cuba travel institutions and companies.
The agenda of the Conference includes presentations and panels attended by US and Cuba participants. Representatives of companies from other countries operating in Cuba for years will expound their experiences in the Cuban tourism market.
On Sunday, October 19, the Cuban tour operator HAVANATUR – in conjunction with the Tourism Ministry and tourism institutions – will sponsor a visit to Havana that will allowed participants to visit airports, hotels, restaurants, cruise ship terminals and the city’s historic heart.
