The Cuba 2017 International Tourism Fair (FITCuba 2017) is not turning its back on the U.S. market. The commercial mart, which will take place between May 3 and 6 in Holguín, will have the already confirmed presence of U.S. agencies, which could increase in the next days since the online accreditation is still open.
María del Carmen Orellana, the Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR) marketing general director, said in a press conference that the U.S. companies linked to this activity are welcomed at the fair despite the restrictions established by the blockade.
“Although U.S. citizens are banned from doing tourism in Cuba by the blockade legislations, those visiting us from that country do use our tourist services to be able to carry out the programs for which they have been authorized by their government. That’s why MINTUR caters to all those who organize the groups visiting us as one more market and that’s why they are also participating in the Fair,” Orellano commented.
“When an agency or a tour operator negotiates with us, the nationality is not what predominates, what predominates is their interest in preparing a program to visit Cuba, and they [those from the U.S.] form part of the ones receiving the services from the providers who are going to be at the fair and will be treated the same way as the rest of the countries,” she added.
FITCuba is dedicated to Germany, one of the principal markets issuing tourists to the island with 242,000 visitors and a 38 percent increase in 2016. Some 50 tour operators and travel agencies from that country have already been accredited.
In the same period more than 284,000 U.S. travelers arrived in Cuba, which together with the 329,000 Cubans residents in the United States who traveled to the island, amounted to a total of 614,433 visitors from the North American nation in 2016: 34 percent more visitors than the previous year.
