Cuba and China sign Memorandum of Cooperation on Tourism

HAVANA, Cuba, Dec 17 (ACN) Cuba and China signed on Wednesday a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in the tourism sector, which lays the groundwork for raising the collaboration between the two countries to new levels, said Carlos Miguel Pereira, Cuban ambassador to Beijing.

In his official profile on Facebook, Pereira added that this MoU opens new opportunities to re-dimension Cuba as a tourist destination for the Chinese, and aspires to become a platform to promote an increase in the number of visitors from that Asian nation to the island.

The document was signed during a meeting between the Cuban diplomat and Zhang Xu, Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism of China, as a sign of the mutual willingness to continue strengthening the exchanges in these two spheres between the two peoples.

During the exchange, Pereira reiterated to the Chinese Vice-Minister the invitation for the Asian giant to participate as Guest of Honor in the 41st edition of the International Tourism Fair FITCUBA, to be held in 2021.

This agreement will be in force for three years, with the possibility of automatic renewal for the same period, and contemplates the promotion of initiatives to encourage collaboration between companies, institutions and tourism operators of both countries, and the development of products that satisfy the needs of visitors, reports Prensa Latina agency.

As part of the ties between the two countries in the area of culture, last January both government representatives agreed to work together to promote cultural cooperation, with the common objective of fostering greater bilateral rapprochement and understanding.

Until the closing of 2019, Cuba was the destination of 44,873 Chinese visitors, a figure that was affected in this 2020 due to the paralysis of tourism worldwide due to the COVID-19, the Cuban National Statistics Office publishes in its yearbook corresponding to last year.