“We are here to tell the whole world that you can come to Cuba; Cuba is one of the safest countries I have visited in the world,” said Zurab Pololikashvili, secretary general of UN Tourism, upon being received by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, together with ministers of Tourism and representatives of that sector in the Latin American and Caribbean region, who are participating in the 69th Meeting of the Regional Commission for the Americas of that specialized agency of the United Nations.
From tourism we can do a lot in defense of social, sustainable development, culture, peace and our peoples, said the Head of State in the exchange, which was also attended by the member of the Political Bureau and Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz.
We all have a lot to contribute and learn about our countries,” he said,” and meetings such as the ones you will be holding in these days are very important to achieve that purpose.
The President thanked them for their presence on the island, because -he stressed- in the midst of “such a cruel blockade to which we are subjected and the media intoxication campaign to distort our reality”, the fact that you are here “means a lot to us”.
Shortly before, the Prime Minister had stressed that there are many projects that we can develop together, and that this is a great opportunity for exchange.
The Cuban Minister of Tourism, Juan Carlos García Granda, assured that Cuba is advocating the development of sustainable local tourism, and there is ample potential.
Gustavo Santos, UN Tourism's regional director for the Americas, spoke of the friendship and unconditional support for Cuba: “Our affection and our accompaniment will always be with Cuba; we are proud to be part of this great team”.
This feeling was shared by Carlos Andrés Peguero, Vice Minister of Tourism for International Cooperation of the Dominican Republic, who argued that “we do not see ourselves as competitors, but rather as complementing each other in the work and vision of greater economic development for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Those present shared various ideas about the need to promote greater cooperation in the path of building multi-destinations in the region; about how much there is to learn from the realities of each country, and about the importance of conceiving tourism development as an instrument to improve the quality of life of the people.
