52 the review
FIT Cuba
There was an air of anticipation at Cuba’s 35th International Tourism Fair as over 1,800 tourism professionals looked ahead, says Karen Luard
Hotel liaisons open up
ACCOR has announced that the 518-room Hotel Pullman Cayo Coco will open November, 2015, in partnership with Cuban group Gran Caribe. The group is then planning to open a 218-room Sofitel in Havana with the local Gaviota Group. French group, Warwick International will open the Warwick Cayo Santa Maria this month (June) and has taken over management of the
Allegro
Varadero four-star hotel. The Cuban state has 26 joint
ventures and hotel management agreements in place with 18 international hotel chains for 69 hotels (providing 35,682 rooms). Additional hotels offering 5,492 more rooms are currently under construction.
It aims for an
inventory of 85,500 rooms by 2020. In March, Airbnb started offering accommodation in Cuba currently only bookable in the US. Minister Marrero said an additional 2,500 rooms a year will open in Cuba, increasing to 4,000 per annum from 2017.
Sercotel of Spain,
Kempinksi and Banyan Tree are some of the hotel brands which have plans to enter the market.
CUBA NEWS IN BRIEF Anniversary: The Spanish colonial
city of Santiago de Cuba celebrates its 500th anniversary on July 25 with a week-long programme of street parties and exhibitions. July 3-9 also see the city’s annual ‘Festival of Fire’, Popular attractions here include the changing of the guard at
the Cementerio Santa Ifigenia.
autenticacuba.com
Get connected: In anticipation of the increase in traffic, Havana airport is set to undergo a $US207 million expansion. Ten international airports currently process arrivals from 54 foreign airlines flying to more than 60 cities with new routes including Iberia flights resuming in June and JetBlue from NYC to Havana from July 3
cubatravelservices.com
Ferry link: Miami-based Baja Ferries
has been issued with a licence to re-start ferry
services between and
Cuba and Florida. Although it’s early days yet, the potential for twinning (family) holidays in Florida with weekend travel to Cuba are already in the planning.
bajaferries.com
Cuba set for change
Adventure and golf tee-off THE new
Rocarena
MAY 5–7 2015
‘aerial
adventure park’ featuring high- rope and rock climbing walls was opened at Cayo Coco over FIT. There are also plans for at least 12 international 18-hole golf courses to be established under
CubaGolf.Britain’s Escencia Group has been investing in this for over seven
years.
China’s Beijing
Enterprise Group has concluded a contract at FIT to construct a golf resort and marina complex on the north coast. Eco-Tur, Cuba’s leading nature and adventure holiday provider
is working with tour
WITH visitor numbers up and US interest and investment set to rise, Cuba is riding a wave of optimism about its tourism future. This year’s FIT Cuba included 129
tourism delegates from the US for the first time and a new section of the event was introduced to the fair, dedicated to business development, coinciding with the opening of the five-star Melia Jardines del Reys Hotel. Cuba’s Minister of Tourism, Manuel Marrero, asserted that the country was entering “its best time for tourism” with arrival figures increasing (up 5.3% in
2014 over the previous year) although arrivals from the UK have dropped slightly. British visitors numbered 43,222 in the first quarter in 2015 with over 150,000 visiting annually, third behind Germany and Italy. Repeat business has increased by 44% with tourism receipts bringing in over US$2.7 billion in 2014, up 16% over the previous year. ‘Autentica Cuba’ remains the focus of
Cuban tourism with operators confident the ethic is strong enough to resist the inevitable
commercial incursions
anticipated with the on-going lifting of the US embargo.
autenticacuba.com
operators to provide a variety of itineraries, including British agency, Cubania Travel
cubaniatravel.com
Cuba positioned as a Maritime paradise
ALL things nautical was the theme this year and with nearly 600km of beautiful, white sandy beaches and over 200 bays. Cuba is positioning itself as a maritime sports paradise. Eco-Tur used the fair to launch a
new water surface kite-surfing product with the Cuban Enterprise Group of Nautical and Marinas and the Gran Caribe Hotel Group. Gaviota is also adding 35 new catamarans to its fleet of 300. Cuba’s main deep-water harbour near Havana, Mariel
Port, is
undergoing major development with support from Brazilian construction companies and Singaporean port operators.
ecoturcuba.tur.cu
sellingtravel.co.uk
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