FITUR: Cuba Praises Spain’s Contribution to its Tourism Development
Cuba’s Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz praised today’s the decisive contribution of corporate Spain to the island nation’s tourism development when the country was going through its hardest times.
The high-ranking official said these remarks during a dinner to celebrate Cuba’s attendance to the International Tourism Fair (FITUR 2016), under way in Madrid, Spain through January 24.
Some of the boldface names seen at the dinner were Taleb Rifai, secretary general of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and Carlos Vogeler, UNWTO executive director, as well as representatives from major hotel chains, airlines and Spanish travel groups.
With a chance to utter a few words to guests, Mr. Marrero underscored the tremendous acclaim Cuba has had in this ongoing edition of FITUR and other side shows, including the meeting with the Tourism Council of the Confederation of Spanish Businesspeople (CEOE is the Spanish acronym), with Spanish Tourism minister Isabel Borrego, Spain’s Trade minister Jaime Garcia-Legaz, CEOE vice president Joaquim Gay de Montella, as well as Joan Gaspart, chairman of the Confederation’s Tourism Commission, among others.
Last year –Mr. Marrero explained- Cuba posted a 17.4 percent growth as 524,000 more tourists visited the island nation. In the same breath, the Cuban Minister said Spain chalked up a 40 percent increase from the previous year.
Mr. Marrero pointed out the Spanish uptick was owed in part to Iberia’s return to the island nation with half a dozen weekly flights, coupled with Air Europa’s seven flights and EVelop, a low-cost company with three weekly flights.
He went on to say that even though the U.S. trade embargo and travel ban remains in place, the number of American arrivals ramped up a staggering 79 percent with visitors pigeonholed in the existing 12 people-to-people travel categories. “There are no more U.S. visitors because Washington still enforces the travel ban on Cuba,” he said.
On a different matter during his remarks, Mr. Marrero revealed there are currently 15 Spanish companies ready to make investments on the island nation.
Spanish hotel companies –he added- top the list in Cuba with the largest number of hotel beds, while Meliá Hotels runs the largest amount of hotels and guestrooms.
He spelled out the efforts in Havana to upgrade the quality of the capital’s hotels and said there’s a dozen Spanish companies set to form joint ventures. A good case in point is Pilsan and SECIN Group, two building companies that will develop temporary entrepreneurial units with Cuba’s Enprestur.
The Cuban Tourism Minister appreciated the invitation to attend Exceltur for the first time and highlighted the outcomes of the meeting with Spanish impresarios gathered within CEOE, a group that arranged a powwow with the Cuban delegation to showcase their offers in the building of guestrooms in the Caribbean country.
During his keynote words in a crowded hall, Mr. Marrero praised the presence in that dinner of Gerardo Hernandez, one of the five Cuban antiterrorists released by the U.S. government the same day President Barack Obama announced the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba. Mr. Hernandez, honored as Hero of the Republic of Cuba, spent 16 years in prison.
Cuba –Mr. Marrero said- “won’t forget those individuals and companies that lent a helping hand in times of hardships, especially Meliá, a company that gave up on its hotels in the United States to stay in Cuba. Now the Spanish chain runs 28 hotels on the island nation.
Last but not least, Mr. Marrero announced a change in Cuba’s publicity campaign and the hosting of many events in the country, including the Iberian-American Ministerial Meeting in Havana and the Chanel Convention, among many others.
