The Cuban Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, inaugurated this Monday the XII Varadero Gourmet International Festival, whose objective is to attract foreign private investment for the gastronomic sector.
“We have a great strength in our Creole food, it is an authentic gastronomy, which we have learned to merge, in addition to the attraction of our cocktail bar. They are services that are increasingly in demand,” said the ruler in a speech that has generated annoyance. among Cubans, tired of living in eternal but now aggravated famine while their leaders promote the gourmet sector.
“And will there be bread?” asks a reader in Cubadebate. In the newspaper, the online spearhead of the Cuban ruling party, several users have made their opinion very clear, opposed to the idea with which Granma Open your news. “Given that tourism is the main source of foreign exchange earnings, progress in this sector will accelerate the search for solutions to many of the problems that we face today in the country,” says the article in the official newspaper of the Communist Party.
“Well, what is needed is for tourists to really come, because for now they prefer the Dominican,” says one. “That’s right, currently the occupancy rate of our tourist facilities is around 14%”
But the readers of Cubadebate They have it very clear. “Well, what is needed is for tourists to really come, because for now they prefer the Dominican,” says one. “That’s right, currently the occupancy rate of our tourist facilities is around 14%. Meanwhile, we continue to build new hotels, instead of investing in energy, road and agricultural infrastructure,” another responds.
“This Sunday there was an impact on the service due to a deficit in generation capacity during 24 hours a day (…). We continue betting on the wrong greyhound, there is no doubt,” says another. “The tourism industry and the nickel industry. They are the only activities that guarantee the payment of international credits. The rest are chimeras. Or do you think it is in agriculture or the sugar industry?”, a user refutes. “Believe me that medical services abroad contribute more. I give you faith in that, that I am a doctor,” interrupts one more.
At the event, which will last until Thursday, Marrero spoke to a room full of chefs, insisting that foreign investment is something “fundamental in the Cuban economy.” For this reason, knowing the skepticism with which investors view Cuba due to its long history of defaults, the Prime Minister admitted that the State has had problems paying producers and stated in the middle of the event that the Government has “a commitment to pay up to the last penny.
The room, located in the Plaza América Convention Center, barely attracted a few tourists, according to a note from the EFE agency. “We only come to buy some things to go to the beach and we have seen all these things almost by coincidence,” Mark, a 35-year-old Canadian who enjoys a vacation at the spa with his girlfriend, Amanda, told the Spanish agency. .
Marrero, who was Minister of Tourism for 15 years and does not miss an opportunity to show that his figure has more weight in the sector than that of the current holder of the portfolio, Juan Carlos García Granda asked the workers of the sector to turn to compete as high-end destination.
We only come to buy some things to go to the beach and we have seen all these things almost by coincidence,” Mark told the Spanish agency.
“Quality is talking about the present and the future of tourism, it is what takes the maximum weight when it comes to the tourist’s choice and in their decision to repeat the same destination. We have the conditions to compete and the advantage of having great professionals,” he said, and referred to pending tasks such as mastering languages, innovations and improving the experience.
Marrero, who this May had corrected the Minister of Tourism admitting that the improvement of the sector would come in 2023, took a step back this Monday and aligned himself again with the official thesis of reaching 2.5 million visitors. Perhaps encouraged by the latest figures available, those of July, when the number of foreign travelers grew by 23%, the prime minister was confident of achieving the goal, but the difficulties are still many. In the first seven months 834,891 visitors arrived, so there are 1,665,000 left for the last five.
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