What else can we do that will allow us to recover tourism in the midst of the war economy scenario the nation is going through? How can we break that vicious circle that, due to lack of financing, there are problems in the quality of services? How do we really strengthen the locomotive of the Cuban economy?
These were some of the questions that guided a meeting between Political Bureau member and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz and tourism workers, in the run-up to Tourism Day, to be held on March 4. The exchange, this Sunday, took place in the capital's La Ferminia restaurant, with significant economic, social and union contributions.
The Head of Government insisted on the urgency of seeking solutions based on science and innovation if we want to be competitive. He called for improving methods and generating more income, as well as redesigning products, strengthening business activities, consolidating productive chains and promoting self-management.
He reflected on the value of "transforming and doing different things with the resources we have. He also talked about other key concepts, such as the role of marketing and travel agencies, taking care of the culture of detail, meeting customer demands, training human resources and improving the working environment.
Yusley Sánchez Enríquez, director of the Hotel Memories Jibacoa, in Mayabeque, said there are two variables that are essential to make a difference: personnel and customer service. "We have left the studies on labor climate out of hand, it is important to retake them and enhance them.
"Workers must be trained, conditions must be created so that they can feel at ease in what they do," he added, while calling for each entity to have a Customer Service Department "very robust, which is attached to the user's opinion."
Marrero Cruz reasoned that human resources make the difference in the sector, and called to "work every day in identifying how internal communication is in the facility: from boss to worker, and vice versa, a big problem we have to solve".
Social responsibility was also discussed at the meeting. Several participants alluded to the attention to communities in transformation, as well as to the generation of employment and improvement opportunities, especially for young people. Claudia Victoria Moraguez and Daylin Valero, two of the workers at La Ferminia, part of the Palmares chain, said.
"I am very grateful for this opportunity, because before I was disconnected from study and work. Here I have found a path of personal fulfillment, I have continued to improve myself, and I have even supported other communities in transformation after the cyclones and the collapse of the National Electric System," said 22-year-old Claudia Victoria, who lives in the Las Canteras neighborhood in the Havana municipality of Playa.
Daylin, 32 years old and mother of three children, said that after participating in the course offered by the Ministry of Tourism, she obtained a position as an employee. "Now I have already qualified to work as a cashier, for language, baker, because I don't want to stay there, I want to continue improving myself. I am very grateful for the opportunity they have given me".
In the exchange, the participants reiterated that tourism is one of the sectors most affected by the intensification of the U.S. blockade; however, its workers "do not lack bomb and heart to move forward", and "are committed to the national economy and to defend the work of the Revolution".
TRANSFORMING TOURISM MANAGEMENT
This Sunday's meeting gives continuity to the process indicated by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, to discuss with workers on how to transform tourism management to recover the standards and competitiveness of Cuba as a destination.
Therefore, Marrero Cruz described it as a "necessary, learning" space, and called to generalize the good experiences shared in the day, because "how is it possible that, in the same conditions of U.S. blockade and resource constraints, there are facilities that make a difference, while others are waiting for resources to fall from above".
He said that it is key to begin by solving the subjective problems, and in all this the role of the cadres, at all levels, is paramount. He reiterated that they have the responsibility to work to overcome the obstacles and, with a transforming mentality, to find solutions to the current problems.
It is decisive "the capacity of this leader to communicate with his collective, to unite it and to put all the collective intelligence in function of transforming", and added that these are times of reasoning, of listening, of explaining…
In the face of the current difficulties, he said, we cannot limit ourselves only to resist, but we have to develop ourselves to truly turn tourism into the locomotive of the national economy. We live in a war economy, in an extremely complex situation, and we have the imperative need for tourism to rise again, to generate again the foreign currency demanded by the country, and thus contribute to greater benefits for the workers and for our society, he added.
AWARDS
After the meeting, several outstanding workers and labor collectives were recognized.
The status of National Vanguard was given by the Prime Minister to five entities of different chains, which "achieved high results in the services rendered and progress in trade union work".
The important award -given by the National Secretariat of the Cuban Workers Central (CTC)- was received by the highest authorities of the Meliá Habana, Gran Muthu Almirante (Holguín) and Club Tropical (Matanzas) hotels, as well as the Floridita Restaurant Bar and the Granma Popular Camping Company.
Nine workers with more than 20 years of work in the sector were honored with the Elpidio Sosa distinction, and another group of colleagues with the 85th Anniversary Seal of the founding of the CTC. Special recognition was also given to Jorge Luis Acosta Paula, general manager of Empresa Extrahotelera Palmares S.A., and to Luis Miguel Díaz Sánchez, manager of National Hotel.
On behalf of those recognized, Díaz Sánchez ratified the commitment to work so that the largest of the Antilles consolidates itself as a tourist destination of peace, health and security. "We will continue to contribute to the development of the country, we will never give up our commitments".
Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, member of the Political Bureau and secretary general of the CTC; Yudí Mercedes Rodríguez Hernández, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party and head of the Department of Services; Juan Carlos García Granda, Minister of Tourism; and Tamara Valido Benítez, president of the Commission of Services of the National Assembly of People's Power, among other guests, attended the event.
