Cuba maintains the aspiration of a six percent economic growth in 2021, which is sustained among other contributions by its nickel exports and the expected 2.2 million tourists, despite the pandemic of the new coronavirus and the tightening of the blockade, announced Alejandro Gil Fernandez, Minister of Economy and Planning.
In a press conference held on May 20 in Havana, the Minister said that the island is not renouncing to the projected economic growth, despite the fact that the policies of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States remain unchanged.
Data provided by the National Office of Statistics and Information indicate that since the beginning of this year and until the end of April, 64,712 foreign tourists arrived in Cuba, a figure that represents only 6.6% of the 983,099 foreign visitors in the same period of 2020, due to the closure caused by the COVID-19.
Out of that total number of travelers, 33,592 came from the Russian Federation, accounting for 53.2%, which shows the consolidation of Cuba as a place of preference for Russians.
Completing the list of the tourist markets for the Caribbean nation are the community of Cuban nationals abroad, Germany, Spain, Canada, the Philippines, Italy, the U.S., France and Colombia. (ACN)
Cuba's potential as a safe tourist destination was evidenced at the International Tourism Fair FITUR 2021, held from May 19 to 23 in Madrid, Spain, where executives of the sector pointed out how an adequate health protocol is applied to all people arriving in the country.
The Cuban delegation, headed by the Minister of Tourism, Juan Carlos García Granda, stressed that the island is committed to the revival of its tourism industry, which in addition to its attractions and hotel infrastructure has a health system of international prestige, with the recent addition of several vaccination candidates applied to the population and workers in the sector.
García Granda told the press that Cuba has a doctor, a nurse and an epidemiologist in each tourist facility, and acknowledged that although the industry has suffered the consequences of the COVID-19 worldwide, the island continued with the planned investment strategy, as well as the maintenance and increase of the hotel plant.
It has a lodging capacity of 76 thousand rooms managed by several national and international hotel chains, in addition to the new luxury hotels in Havana and the 25 thousand accommodations in private homes throughout the country. (ACN)
Hundreds of tourists from the United Kingdom are enjoying the sun and beach benefits of Varadero, after two months of suspended flights from that European nation and resumed this May by the TUI airline.
The flights have a weekly frequency and every Thursday many vacationers from the UK travel from Manchester to this Cuban destination, which since the beginning of the tourist development in this Caribbean Island has positioned itself in the first places of travelers from Europe.
There are high levels of satisfaction with the services and biosecurity standards in the seaside resort city, where there is great rigor in the compliance with biosecurity measures to prevent the transmission of the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
A strict level of stringent requirements is maintained with respect to the performance of the sector's personnel to prevent contagion and protect customers and workers, both in the tourist facilities and in the community.
The Juan Gualberto Gómez International Airport receives flights from TUI UK, an airline that started its connections with Cuba since 2007 and has flown to Cayo Santa María, Holguín and Varadero. (ACN)
The TripAdvisor website granted the Travellers' Choice award to the Gran Club Santa Lucía Hotel, one of the four hotels owned by the Cubanacán chain on Santa Lucía beach, the main tourist destination in Camagüey province.
In the aforementioned digital publication, Internet users write positive comments about the hotel, which also contributes to tourists recommending that hotel to enjoy during their visit to that beach resort in central eastern Cuba.
The comfort and service, ideal for a stay with family or friends, stand out, as well as others associated with the friendly and professional treatment of the staff, which are the main reasons for the award, something that rejoices those who work at the 252-room hotel.
The Traveller's Choice Award was also granted to other Cuban lodging facilities for their impact on the TripAdvisor portal, where information on hotels and photographs, among other things, are posted.
Cubanacán manages four hotels in the northern beach of Santa Lucía and six in the city of Camagüey, the latter of the E brand, characterized according to the place where they are located in the historic center of the city, whose oldest area is a World Cultural Heritage Site. (ACN)
As of June 1st, the Russian airline Aeroflot will start flights to Varadero, a destination that will have a frequency on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays with Boeing 777-300ER aircrafts with more than 500 seats.
This will bring to four the number of Russian companies flying to the Juan Gualberto Gómez airport, the second most important on the island, since Azur Air, NordWind and Royal Flight began operations in April.
Yamil Millares, head of ground operations of the Matanzas airport, explained that, in addition to the increase in the arrival of tourists from the Eurasian giant to Varadero, there will also be an increase in the transit of postal mail.
From June onwards, there will be 10 weekly arrivals of aircraft with an estimated 4,000 to 4,500 Russian vacationers to enjoy Varadero, the source added.
Vacationers are subjected to the hygienic-sanitary controls established to avoid contagion with Covid-19, and the biosecurity measures provided for in the protocols without losing fluidity and agility in the attention to travelers, the specialist added. (ACN)
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