The sanctuary of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, in Santiago de Cuba, with the superimposed effigy of a Cuban santera, is the striking image of one of the promotional posters of the 41st edition of the International Tourism Fair of the Island (FitCuba ), inaugurated this May 1st.
The event, which will take place until next Friday at the Morro-Cabaña complex, brings together “nearly 73 international tour operators, more than 51 hotel chains and the same number of airlines,” according to reported the official press.
cubadebate He highlighted that it is the first FitCuba held in the capital since the pandemic – last year took place in Varadero– and that it is dedicated “to culture and heritage”.
In parallel, in Cayo Santa María (Villa Clara), almost 400 travel agents from Spain and Portugal meet until May 7, in the so-called DIT Management Annual Macro Convention. The Cuban News Agency collected the statements of the president of the Spanish company, Jon Arriaga, who recalled that planning for the event began half a year ago “with the interest of promoting the sale of the Cuba destination.”
The president of DIT Gestión, Jon Arriaga, recalled that the event began to be planned half a year ago “with the interest of promoting the sale of the Cuba destination”
The signature, based in the Basque Countryarrived with the professionals summoned to the Havana airport on April 30, with the intention that their agents Participate in the May Day paradefinally postponed until Friday.
“They go to Cuba and Havana in extraordinary circumstances, marked by the crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic and the blockade of the United States. Despite this, they will enjoy the customs, habits and traditions that distinguish us,” he said. in his welcome speech to FitCuba the governor of Havana, Reinaldo García Zapata.
In the same sense, the Minister of Tourism, Juan Carlos García Granda, declared that this sector “has shown great potential and has been able to maintain its competitiveness in the international market despite the challenges it faces.”
The Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, also alluded to these “challenges”, who, attributing the situation to the covid-19 pandemic and the blocking of the United States, recognized that they have been “difficult years”.
Among the island’s “potential” to recover tourism, which is the country’s third source of income after the sale of medical services and remittances, Marrero points out “the quality infrastructure, trained human capital, the extensive legacy history and culture, legendary heritage cities, 290 national monuments, preserved nature, 600 km of beaches and a town characterized by its joviality”.
Despite the usual voluntarism, the official figures show that the crisis is far from over. Cuba received, according to the National Office of Statistics and Information (Onei), 1.6 million international travelers in 2022with what was below the goal of 1.7 millionwhich in turn had been “readjusted” from an initial forecast of 2.5 million.
Although more foreign tourists came than in 2021 (356,470), the figure is far from the levels of 2019 (4.2 million) and 2018 (4.6 million), before covid-19.
Various experts have already warned that the goal of 3.5 million international visitors projected by the Government for this 2023 will be very difficult to achieve, given the current crisis, with frequent blackouts, shortages of food, medicine and fuel, and roads and other public infrastructure in disrepair.
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