The International Tourism Fair, FITCuba 2016 is making national and international headlines. The event which has been running for over 36 years, has been boosted by the “added value” of being the biggest edition to date.
This according to Cuba’s Minister of Tourism, Manuel Marrero Cruz, speaking at the inaugural session held at Havana’s Hotel Tryp Habana Libre. Over 2,000 delegates from over 50 countries, in addition to 173 journalists, are participating in this year’s event.
Marrero highlighted the declaration signed on Tuesday, May 3, during the 60th World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Regional Commission for the Americas, in which the 17 sector ministers leading their respective regional delegations to the event reaffirmed their solidarity with the people and government of Ecuador, after the earthquake which hit the South American nation on Saturday, April 16.
Cuba’s Tourism Minister also noted that the island surpassed the three million visitor mark in 2015, a figure predicted to reach 3.8 million in 2016. Thus far this year, over 1.5 million foreign tourists have visited Cuba, representing a 13.5% increase as compared to the same period last year.
Countries from the Americas and Europe make up the island’s top 10 tourist source markets; with Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina and the United States leading for the Americas, while Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain, represent the top emissary nations in Europe.
Marrero reported that around 200 U.S. businesspeople are registered to attend the event, while over 161,000 citizens from that country visited Cuba last year, with 94,000 having arrived to the island thus far in 2016. However, he pointed out that although Washington has modified travel licenses, tourist travel to the island by U.S. citizens remains prohibited.
He also emphasized that raising the quality of all sector services continues to be a top priority, with policy currently geared toward the consolidation and diversification of products, given that the sector represents the country’s second largest source of revenue. In fact, last year the industry contributed $2.8 billion dollars to the national economy, also benefiting other sectors and helping to create production linkages.
The Ministry’s portfolio of investment projects currently includes 126 proposals. Marrero highlighted that 76 hotel administration and marketing contracts had been signed with 17 international chains by the end of April, while another 23 are scheduled to be ratified soon.
Canadian Tourism Minister, Bardish Chagger, expressed thanks for being chosen as guest country of honor given that Canada has been Cuba’s largest tourist source market since 1998, and emphasized the nation’s interest in solidifying over 70 years of ties between the two governments and peoples.
