Cuba: A Maritime Destination

Cuba is, per se, a perfect destination for sea lovers. Throughout its 70 thousand square kilometer platform, this Caribbean archipelago treasures a natural environment with unique beauty and a good infrastructure for the development of a tourism modality that is still unexploited.

With exotic marine species and coral barriers ranked about the best in the world, the island has 600 kilometers of natural beaches and some 200 bays where you can find rich biological diversity like few in the region.

To complement these gifts from nature, the country has 39 international diving centers, 11 nautical bases and 12 marinas managed by the Cuban Marlin, S.A and Gaviota groups located in the main tourism complexes.

Equipped and with the capacity of welcoming international travel, 9 tourism marinas has 9 new entrance areas in the country, which will gain potential once its services are put in use and the number of vessels grow from large neighboring markets like the United States.

Despite these potentials, the Cuban tourism sector is currently transforming its product aimed at diversity and attraction and where the nautical modality becomes one of the prioritized sectors in search for a market that has high earnings.

In this sense, Marlin and Gaviota offers activities like sports fishing, contemplative diving, maritime trips in speed boats and water sports among them kitesurf and seakayak and others that will seduce adventure lovers.

Exceptional conditions for diving also distinguishes the archipelago blessed with peaceful, transparent and warm waters (between 24 and 28 degrees Celsius) and stable temperatures, an average visibility of 30 to 40 meters for divers, very little waves almost all year around and proven safe maritime.

The almost 40 diving centers is available with instructors prepared in underwater life saving techniques, first aid and oxygenation.

It is obligatory to show the international certificate in these installations that shows that the client can dive and the extraction of species from its habitat is prohibited.

Among some of the attractions and adventures in water tourism include the marlin fishing tournaments held each year in Havana and Jardines el Rey tourism complex.

An extensive platform, low areas and high coasts with well conserved species have made Cuba the perfect site to carry out these types of events in particular the Ernesto Hemingway Fishing Tournament, one of the most popular competitions in the world and ready to celebrate its 65 th edition.

But beyond the national efforts, in this attempt to promote water tourism we also need resources from abroad; reason why Cuba is looking for foreign partners to supply advanced equipment and technology which are necessary for a more complete product.

Among the projects offered to foreign investors is the management contracts of marine and nautical services with recognized companies in the world aimed at increasing the level of quality of these spaces.

With these premises, the 35th International Tourism Fair FITCUBA 2015 dedicated this year's event to the nautical modality and Jardines del Rey is one of the main Cuban tourism complex that stimulate the activity.