Cuba Willing to Attract Yachts from the Caribbean

Senior executives of Cuba’s travel industry revealed their latest projects related to the development of nautical options on the island, in a clear-cut effort to fully join one the fastest growing segments in the Americas, specifically in the Caribbean region, where there are nearly 70 million travelers on an annual basis interested in nautical amusement.

During the sessions of the 35th International Travel Fair (FIT) Cuba 2015, held at Jardines del Rey destination, the president Marlin S.A. Business Group, Domingo Cisneros Rodriguez, announced that the largest island of the Antilles has the potential to attract bigger shares of that market, which could be perceived last year when, out of the 3 million tourists that visited country, 416,000 went for nautical activities.

“Cuba has great potential to develop products related to the sea, as it features gorgeous and well-preserved coastal and sea bottoms, warm waters and it stands right in the middle of the main routes of sailing ships and yachts that sail the Caribbean”, he pointed out.

According to Mr. Cisneros, this assessment is combined with reports that show how 80 percent of the Italian tourists visiting the island nation prefer such activities as diving, fishing, yacht sails and nautical sports.

At the same time, he underscored that the World Travel Organization described nautical products as one of the growing markets in the Caribbean, with the significant presence of 72 million US tourists that every year enjoy nautical recreation options along the coastal of North America and the coasts of the Caribbean region.   

On the other hand, Frank Pais Oltunski, Marketing Vice president of Gaviota S.A., the company that manages a third of the number of hotel rooms in Cuba, announced that, along with the growth of the number of hotels, in the near future the group is going to encourage the development of several marinas and nautical sports areas in such provinces as Pinar de Rio, Havana, Matanzas, Villa Clara, Ciego de Avila and Holguin.

Within this strategy, Gaviota’s marina carried out an investment process so as to bring its fleet up to date, so nearly 300 ships to practice diving and 35 catamarans have been bought, which will simultaneously move over 2,000 tourists.

Just as it was told to a large group of tour operators, entrepreneurs and travel agents from 40 countries, who attended the ITF, Cuba has updated its legislations according to international standards so as to facilitate the access and departure of ships in Cuban ports, as well as security procedures in terms of recreation nautical activities.