Cuba Destination Promotes Circuit, Tours

All tourism services or products shall target the needs and expectations of potential or existing clients, the market director of the Tourism Ministry, Carmen Orellana, commented when she was assessing the strengths of Cuba as a destination and the development of circuits, during the Wednesday session of 2014 FITCuba.

From the geographic point of view, Cuba features the conditions to develop circuit tourism, since it’s a narrow and elongated country, with advantages for those who like combining different preferences in one tourism trip, she said.

The executive explained that the 16 tourism regions defined in the country harmonically offer natural and geographic attributes, complemented by cultural and historic values.
She pointed out the existence of over 4,000 keys and248miles of white-sand and crystal clear beaches, with the second largest coral reef of the world, in the north of the country, which is also a world-class platform to practice scuba diving and nautical sports.

Furthermore, Orellana said, Cuba has 14 national parks, made up of diverse protected ecosystems, ranging from keys and coral reeves (Jardines de la Reina archipelago and San Felipe keys), swamps (Zapata swamp), rainforests (Alejandro de Humboldt and Pico Cristal parks) or mogotes  (Viñales Valley).

Meanwhile, the patrimonial, cultural and historical wealth gathered over the centuries to build the country’s national identity, stand as original appeals included in different tourism circuits.

The preservation and protection level of these places has been praised by Unesco, so they have been declared World’s Heritage and 257 sites have been labeled as National Monuments, she added.

The market director said that, in an effort to develop a comprehensive work on tourism services, the country counts on five national agencies that are directly managed by Cuba’s Tourism Ministry: Havanatur, Cubatur, Viajes Cubanacán, Ecotur and Cubamar.

Finally, she underlined that Cuba, with its circuit product, can fulfill the expectations of multiple segments of the tourism market with three basic lines: nature, culture and sun and beach; passive and active activities, contemplatives, adventure and learning, evasive and contact, organized and free.