U.S. Exhibitors Attend Cuba’s Travel Industry Fair for the First Time

Over 150 travel agents, airline representatives and tour operators from the United States are taking part for the first time in Cuba's International Tourism Fair, which began Tuesday.

Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero spotlighted the American presence during his speech to open the 2015 edition of the event known as FitCuba in Jardines del Rey, an archipelago of islets off the island's north coast, state media said.

Marrero said that since the governments of Cuba and the United States announced their decision to renew diplomatic relations last Dec. 17, the number of visits by U.S. executives to the island has grown.

Nonetheless, the minister recalled the obstacles that still exist for Americans to travel to Cuba due to the economic embargo that Washington has imposed on Havana since 1962 and whose final elimination now depends on Congress.

For now, Americans can only travel to the Caribbean country for academic, cultural or relgious purposes, but if the U.S. government raises the ban on travel for other ends, there could be as many as 3 million U.S. visitors in the first year.

That number would be equal to the record total of tourists that Cuba welcomed in 2014.

Meanwhile, Cuba is optimistic about 2015 and expects further growth of international tourism, the second-largest source of revenue for the country after professional services.

The country that sends the most tourists to Cuba is Canada, followed by Germany, France, Britain and Italy, though statistics also show a rebound of tourism from Venezuela, Mexico and Chile.

The 35th FitCuba fair will continue until Thursday with participants from 40 countries.

Source: EFE