Cuba aims to reach 6 million tourists by 2030
Cuba aims to reach 6 million foreign visitors by 2030 and will prioritize the construction of hotels and lodging facilities in the country’s main tourist destinations.
In that sense, Cuban tourism authorities foresee significant growth especially in sun and beach destinations and in event tourism, according to statements made by Juan Carlos García Granda, Cuba’s Minister of Tourism.
By 2030, Cuba plans to expand the country’s hotel capacity to 95,000 rooms, which could be achieved through the consolidation of real estate companies with both Cuban and foreign capital.
Cuban authorities seek to attract more clients with better economic situation and for that purpose they intend to build modern golf courses and new marinas, said García Granda.
The Cuban minister made these comments during the presentation of Cuba’s tourism proposal to Spanish businessmen on the eve of the Madrid International Tourism Fair (FITUR 2022), to be held from Wednesday, January 19 to Sunday, January 23.
Cuba is a traditional participant in these tourism fairs held every year in January or February in the Spanish capital. Nearly 7,000 companies from more than 100 countries are participating in Fitur 2022.
Meliá and Iberostar, two of the most important Spanish hotel chains, have had an extensive presence in Cuba for many years and very close ties with the island’s government.
In his presentation, the Cuban Minister of Tourism stressed that Cuba will have no difficulties with the coronavirus and provided information on the vaccination campaign developed on the island, the production of vaccines and the national medicines used to treat covid-19 patients.
For 2022, government figures are much more cautious than long-term plans. Despite the optimism, the projected figures will be difficult to achieve in the current context.
Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism expects to receive two million tourists this year, a statistic close to the 2019 data, just before the pandemic punished the Cuban tourism industry and put it in free fall, as official statistics show.
Medal for cuban tourism
Juan Carlos García Granda, Cuban Minister of Tourism, received on Tuesday, January 18, the Medal of Merit for the Internationalization of Spanish Tourism in Ibero-America.
The award was presented on the occasion of the XXV Ibero-American Conference of Tourism Ministers and Entrepreneurs (CIMET 2022), held in Madrid, Spain.
Speaking on Tuesday in one of the halls of the event, García Granda referred to the island’s projections in the tourism sector.
As part of the program of the International Tourism Fair (Fitur 2022) in Madrid, the minister referred on Monday to Cuba’s aspiration, by 2030, to increase its hotel capacity to 95,000 rooms and exceed six million visitors.
During a meeting with Spanish businessmen, as a prelude to the event, he presented the business opportunities in Cuban territory and promoted foreign investment projects on the island.
The CIMET 2022 forum was headed by Spain’s Secretary of State for Tourism, Fernando Valdés; Ifema’s general director, Eduardo López-Puertas; Iberia Group’s head of sales for Ibero-America, Víctor Moneo; and Fitur’s director, María Valcarce.
Discussions at Fitur will focus on analyzing the effects of the covid-19 pandemic on tourism in Ibero-America and the Caribbean.
