{"id":256906,"date":"2022-08-22T11:54:30","date_gmt":"2022-08-22T15:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=256906"},"modified":"2022-08-22T11:54:30","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T15:54:30","slug":"construction-of-new-hotels-in-cuba-in-times-of-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/economy\/tourism-in-cuba\/construction-of-new-hotels-in-cuba-in-times-of-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction of new hotels in Cuba in times of crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the cafeteria of the luxurious Grand Aston hotel in Havana \u2014 <\/span>inaugurated in March<\/b><\/a> \u2014 there are more waitresses than guests, to the point that in the middle of a summer afternoon the employees joke: \u201cThere is even time to think.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

From this imposing building, with 600 rooms, which can cost up to 200 dollars a night, you can see the iconic Malec\u00f3n seaside drive of <\/span>the Cuban capital<\/b><\/a> from a row of empty tables and a refrigerator with foreign beers.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are hardly no visiting guests. But not only here, but in a great many of island\u2019s hotels, some of them built and opened in recent years, coinciding with the serious crisis that the country has been facing since 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI became aware (about the lack of tourists) when I looked from my room to the street the next morning and there was no one. It is true that it seemed strange to us,\u201d Valerie, a 20-year-old Frenchwoman together with her friend Shawnee, 19, confesses from the lobby of the Habana Libre Hotel.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although hotel occupancy in Varadero \u2014 the main sun and beach destination in Cuba \u2014 is higher than in Havana and the island is not in high season \u2014 coinciding with winter in the northern hemisphere \u2014 the figures used by experts reaffirm the perception of these two girls.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tourists and rooms<\/b><\/p>\n

The occupancy rate in accommodations in Cuba remained at around 50% between 2016 and 2020, according to official data collated by economist Pedro Monreal.<\/span><\/p>\n

The number of rooms, for its part, has risen by more than 25% since 2016. If at the beginning of that year there were 62,000 rooms, the Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR) currently speaks of 78,862, of which 74% are in 4- and 5-star facilities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Monreal adds that in the last biennium, while the gross domestic product (GDP) fell by more than 7%, the State spent nearly 1.5 dillion dollars on hotels.<\/span><\/p>\n

The construction of new tourist rooms \u2014 which this economist estimates to be the bulk of the \u201cbusiness services, real estate and rental activities\u201d item \u2014 came close to 50% of the investment between 2020 and 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tourism: much more than buildings-hotels<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n