/ttc-199-ITB-MAP-11-web-ingles

International Tourism Publication founded in 1996 Year XI • Issue 200 • March 2011 • Europe Edition • www.traveltradecaribbean.com • ISSN 1724 - 5370 Poste italiane Spa - Sped. in Abb. Post. D.L. 353/2003 Conv. in L. 27/02/2004, no. 46 Art. 1 comma 1, DCB Milano - Prezzo per copia EURO 0,25

Principal Caribbean Tourism Investment Conference The principal Caribbean tourism investment conference will be held May 10-12 in Montego Bay, Jamaica, convened by the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association. ................. 4

Cuban Travel Agencies. TTC sets aside a special space to review Cuban travel agencies on pages 14, 15, 16 and 18: interviews with the presidents of Cubatur and San Cristóbal and biographical sketches of Havantur,

Underwater Photography Meeting

The City of Havana seen from the Morro-Cabaña Park.

FITCuba 2011 The 31st International Tourism Fair of Cuba will take place May 2-7, 2011 at Havana’s Morro Cabaña Park. FITCuba 2011 will be dedicated to Mexico as the country guest of honor; to City of Havana as a center of attractions; and to the multidestination product. Designed for professionals of the tourist sector and transportation, its travel agency will be Cubatur and its official transportation companies will be Transtur and Cubana Airlines.

Gaviota Tours and Viajes Cubanacán, as well as of the Paradiso, Cubadeportes and Amistur agencies, specializing in cultural, sports and sociopolitical tourism, respectively.

Conviasa Begins Operations to Cuba and Plans to Expand in Region 2

New Year Opens With German Market’s Growth for Cuba 4 Towards French Market’s Takeoff in Cuba 6

Our Next Editions & Photography Contest Rules 22

Caribbean Festival Dedicated to Trinidad and Tobago Set for next July 3-9, the 31st Caribbean Festival, also called Fire Fiesta, to be held in Santiago de Cuba, will be dedicated to Trinidad and Tobago. ........................ 2

Venezuela’s Conviasa state-run airline began operations to Cuba with six weekly flights, and announced its upcoming expansion to Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Peru and Ecuador. ................................................... 4

travel trade caribbean • year XI • issue 200

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María la Gorda IMASUB Underwater Photography Meeting

WHEn THE STRIP OF SEA BETWEEn the Corrientes and San Antonio capes was declared in 2001, in the Guanahacabibes national Park, as a Protected Marine Area, part of it was dedicated to recreational scuba diving, in some 50 points and 20 km of marine shelf.

In this marvelous place is located the María la Gorda International Scuba Diving Center (CIB), an ideal spot for diving because of its caves, caverns and tunnels. And this is the scenario for the First Underwater Photography Meeting, IMASUB 2011, in which underwater photographers from all over the world can participate, with the only requirement of meeting the event’s regulations.

This shelf is extremely narrow, which is why it ends not far from the coast and its limit depth ranges from 200 to 1,000 m. Its seabed features clear contrasts for underwater photography since the transparency of the water allows for a visibility of up to 30 m of longitudinal distance

in depths of 25 and 30 m, where the temperature is some 20 degrees Celsius from December to February and 30 degrees in August.

The categories in competition are Environment, Macro and Environment with Model. Ten prizes will be awarded: three first prizes by category and a Grand Prize for the most integral and creative photographer.

Entries are valid up to 30 days before the start of the meeting. Interested persons should be certified as divers by RSTC member organizations and have an updated record of medical competence. ■ COnTACTs Gaviota Tours SA Travel Agency, Specialized Tourism: tur_esp1@gaviotatours.cu tur_esp2@gaviotatours.cu CIB Gaviota María la Gorda: comercial@gaviotatours.cu

Caribbean Festival Dedicated to Trinidad and Tobago Continued from front page –

Sponsored by the Casa del Caribe, in coordination with the Paradiso Travel Agency and the Cuban Ministry of Culture, the event will feature representative expressions of the popular fiestas of that English-speaking Caribbean country, which range from the steel band, carnival dances, street dance groups and congas, to different musical interpretations of their rhythms, especially

the calypso. The varied program includes specialized colloquiums, visual art exhibitions, magical-religious ceremonies, theatre,

parades and meetings of bearer groups.

Trinidad and Tobago Ambassador to Cuba Jennifer Jones Kernahan considered it opportune that the next Fire Fiesta will coincide with the year dedicated to Afro descendants and the Cuba-CARICOM Summit, which will be held in Trinidad and Tobago in December 2011.

She predicted a large representation of artists and intellectuals from Trinidad and Tobago at the Festival. ■

Emirates Airlines Wants to Fly to Dominican Republic THE MAJOR United Arab Emirates airline company wants its airplanes to fly to the Dominican Republic in order to boost its presence in Latin America, listin. com.do reports. The Arab country, which owns one of the world’s major airlines, has officially stated as much to the Dominican Government.UAE Civil Aviation director Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi and Dominican par José Tomás Pérez, in an official visit to Dubai, reviewed the 2009 open sky agreement signed by both countries in Turkey.

The agreement would allow Emirates Airlines to also use the Dominican Republic as a new point of operations. The carrier flies to 120 countries, Brazil among them, and the only destination in Latin America. The agreement is pending approval in the Dominican Congress and is one of several between both countries since president Leonel Fernéndez’s official visit to Dubai last year. ■

Address Via Galileo Galilei, 47 20092 Cinisello Balsamo, Mi • Tel. 02 36649575 • Fax 02 36649576 • E-mail redazione.italia@traveltradecaribbean.com / commerciale.it@ gmail.com • Printer Officina Grafica S.R.L. Via Della Meccanica, 8 Vigano Di Gaggiano 20083, Mi Honorary President Renzo Druetto • Principal Director Giuseppe Ferraris • Director Alfredo Rodríguez - director@traveltradecaribbean.com • Editorial Staff for Italy Tiziana Settanni • Editorial Staff for Cuba Josefina Pichardo - redaccion@traveltradecaribbean.com • Digital News Services Frank Martín • Collaboration and Marketing Ana Cecilia Herrera - anac@traveltradecaribbean.com / Maria E. Leyva - mariae.leyva@traveltradecaribbean.com / Orlando Ojeda - orlando.ojeda@traveltradecaribbean.com / Magdalena García - magda@enet.cu / Mercedes Guillot • E-mail italia@traveltradecaribbean.com • Web www.traveltradecaribbean.com • News Office for the Caribbean Havana, Cuba / ttc.cuba@traveltradecaribbean.com • Contact and Information info@traveltradecaribbean.com Registered at the Milan Court under the number 166. 13/03/2002. Publicity 45%. Property of Travel Trade Caribbean S.R.L. Registry date at the Chamber of Commerce: 08/01/2001. Registered in ROC Italia (registry of communications operators). Distributed through postal subscription. Cost of copy: 0.25 USD. Partial or total reproduction of the articles is forbidden without the express authorization of their authors, who have legal rights over them and are responsible for their contents.

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New Year Opens With German Market’s Growth for Cuba ■ Marisabel Gonzlez Hernndez Director Cuban Ministry of Tourism Office in Germany

Naranjo Bay National Park. Holguín is one of the destinations preferred by German visitors.

AT THE CLOSE OF 2010, there were more than 93,000 German tourist arrivals to Cuba, similar to the figure for 2009. According to preliminary data, at the close of the first half of February 2011, the arrival of Germans to the island registered an increase of 7% and 3% as compared to the same period in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

The aforementioned is a sign of the recovery of the German market for the Cuba destination, as a result of the effects of the actions carried out by the Ministry of Tourism and the Cuban tourist entities in the market, which has stimulated the demand for the destination.

A show of this has been the increased air capacity for the current winter season, compared to the previous one, to destinations like Havana and Holguín, which, together with Varadero, are the best known and sold by German tour operators.

We won’t lower our guard because of these results, on the contrary; we must continue offering variety and quality in the tourist products we promote in the market and be increasingly more faithful to the current Cuba destination publicity campaign: authenticity, diversity, but very linked to quality and professionalism.

As usual, Cuba is present this year in the ITB BERLIn Fair –in its 45th edition–, on this occasion with the images of a new Authentic Cuba campaign, an opportunity we will take advantage of to promote and market new products and to have closer marketing relations with the market’s principal tour operators, travel agencies and airlines.

We predict a good 2011 for tourism in our country and we will work so that the German market makes a positive contribution. ■

Principal Caribbean Tourism Investment Conference Continued from front page –

This edition will attract more participants due to the record 23.1 million visitors registered in 2010 –a 4.2% increase compared to 2009-, according to forecasts by the Caribbean Tourism Organization.

The organizers also expect a greater assistance because of the boom registered by the tourist in industry in the region, which has increased its rooms by 28%.

Tourists enjoy rafting in Jamaica.

Conviasa Begins Operations to Cuba and Plans to Expand in Region Continued from front page – Venezuela’s flagship airline advanced it will offer a promotion rate on the Caracas-Havana-Caracas route, daily except for Saturdays, on a Boeing 737 with capacity for 120 passengers.

Almost 400 delegates from more than 23 Caribbean countries, the United States and the United Kingdom participate every year in this marketplace.

The participants’ profile covers a wide gamut of architects, lawyers, designers, creditors, real estate companies, financial advisors, hotel chain CEOs, and government and tourism officials. ■

“In March we will begin operations to Colombia (Bogotá) and Trinidad and Tobago (Port of Spain); in April we will fly to the Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo), Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica; while in May we will do so to Peru (Lima) and Ecuador (Quito),” said Eduardo Legaspi, executive vice president of the airline, founded in 2004 and based in Maiquetía’s Simón Bolívar International Airport. ■

Tropicana More than“A Paradise under the Stars” TROPICAnA, A LIVInG legend among the world’s most famous cabarets, saw the light on December 31, 1939. Its stages are proud to have been witness to the most famous in the show world and Cuban popular music for more than seven decades. Musical revues that since the 1950s reaffirm it as the most dazzling Havana nightspot.

Distinguished with the Best of the Best Five Star Diamond prize by the north American Academy of the Restaurant Industry, today it comprises two salons, a restaurant and a café. sAlOn UnDER ThE sTARs An exuberant garden under Cuba’s starlit nights where guests enjoy the grand “Tambores en Concierto” show, which recreates the fusion of the Spanish and African legacy in the exhibition of its immediate derivatives like the rumba, the danzonete and the mambo, as well as the most contemporary Latin jazz. All this through a tantalizing viewpoint, where audacious choreographies are seconded by the realism and wealth that the set design and wardrobe propose for the sake of achieving a sumptuous and impacting production.

isTAl sAlOn ARCOs DE CRisTAl This salon is a reproduction of the Cuban countryside; the example of the best architecture of the 1950s, representative of the aesthetic significance of tropical nature – winner of the Gold Medal Prize of the national School of Architects in 1953.

This very comfortable salon is ideal for fashion shows, concerts and dances.

TAURAnT lOs JARDinEs REsTAURAnT The strains of the violin and the piano, the exquisite attention and the delicious flavor of nation-

al and international haute cuisine await you in the place where the Tropicana Casino originally stood.

RODnEy CAFé With an atmosphere, architecture and gastronomy of national and international cuisine, inspired by the 1950s, it is Tropicana’s bohemian spot par excellence. It of offers music sessions in a climate of special intimacy. ■

sChEDUlEs Salons Under The Stars and Arcos de Cristal from 8:30 p.m. until dawn Los Jardines Restaurant from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Rodney Café from 12:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.

Calle 72 y Línea del Ferrocarril, Marianao La Habana Tel.: (53 7) 267 0110 (53 7) 267 1717 (53 7) 267 1719 Web: cabaret-tropicana.com reservas@tropicana.palmares.cu

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Towards French Market’s Takeoff in Cuba Gilberto, what actions are being carried out to increase French tourist arrivals to Cuba?

The Ministry and its Office in France continue promoting the attractions of the destination through the Authentic Cuba campaign. The Office participated in the Workshop Meetings with the Press of ADOnET, an organization comprising the majority of the foreign tourism offices in France, where we spoke with some 150 journalists about the wealth and diversity of our offer and the principal events to be held in 2011.

Cuba is present in the MAP World Tourism Fair with a 45 m2 stand; and we are organizing the Authentic Cuba Round, from March 17 to 25, which will take the Cuban delegation, on board a bus decorated with images of the campaign, to six of the principal French cities (Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseille, Lyon and Strasbourg) to organize workshops with the network of regional travel agents and agencies that sell the destination, notify them of the novelties

Interview with Gilberto López Bre­ to, Cuban Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR) Office in France director. and set up actions with a view to the summer and winter.

Starting May, until the end of the year, important promotion actions of the Authentic Cuba campaign are previewed for TV, publicity billboards and the Internet.

What are the forecasts for the 2011-2012 season?

Since September 2010 until today, there has been a recovery in the emission of French tourists with a continuous growth. Undoubtedly, the 2010-2011 winter will be better than the previous one, given that since December 2 to February 12, according to preliminary figures, a 10.8% growth was registered, a tendency that will continue until the close of April, according to the principal tour opera-

tors, in keeping with the performance of their sales. now the idea is to guarantee a superior summer and winter that mark the market’s takeoff, and we are working towards those objectives.

Air connections between France and Cuba?

In winter there are two Cubana Airlines weekly flights, on Sundays and Thursdays, and nine Air France weekly flights, one a day plus two extra ones on Fridays and Sundays. In addition, a weekly flight by the XL Air Ways to Varadero, shared with Bahamas, is operating since December 15 to the end of April.

Tour operators that contribute the most in the operation Havanatour Paris, Vacances Transat France and nouvelles Frontières.

What is Cuba presenting at MAP 2011?

This edition’s principal theme is fiestas and festivals. Cuba will present its tourist products, novelties and traditional fiestas.

The fair will also serve as the framework for promoting the main events of 2011. ■

Tourism Expo in Panama THE InTERnATIOnAL Tourism Expo will be held next September 22 and 23 in the Atlapa Convention Center, Panama. Organized by the local Chambers of Tourism and Commerce, it is expected to surpass the previous attendance, with the participation of some 200 wholesale buy-

ers from the Americas, Asia and Europe.

Salomón Shamah, president of the Panama Tourism Authority, said that this entity will display in its pavilion the different products the isthmus has to offer and will present the chambers of the interior of the nation and their handicraft offers. ■

Panama will display its handicraft tradition throughout the Expo.

Gran Caribe in Varadero www.gran-caribe.cu

The Gran Caribe Hotel Group guides you through Varadero, Cuba’s most famous beach and principal sun and beach destination… 22

VillA CUBA REsORT **** It is privileged because of its centrally located position between the traditional and modern Varadero, close to the Golf Club and to the shoreline of the best beach area.

Made up by a hotel, houses and a module, it has 365 rooms –261 doubles, 4 suites, 7 mini suites, 5 duplex, 88 king size– with AC, private bathroom, telephone, satellite TV, safety-deposit box, hairdryer, minibar, balcony, view to the garden or to the sea. Two rooms with facilities for the handicapped.

Other facilities: Four restaurants, four bars, swimming pool for children and adults, sauna, massages, shops, beauty parlor, laundry, medical services , tourism desk, Internet, money exchange, wedding legal service, conference room, car rental and taxis. Thematic nights, dance lessons, diving for beginners, games room, land and water sports.

Carretera Las Américas, Reparto La Torre, Varadero, Matanzas Tel.: (53 45) 66 8280 Fax: (53 45) 66 8282 E-mail: reservas@vcuba.gca.tur.cu

kilometers of unique beach with an extensive strip of white sand and a sea of warm and transparent waters of intense green-blue hues.

ClUB KAwAmA **** This hotel complex, with a rich history and beautiful architecture, faces one of the most tranquil beach strips, with a view to the Varadero canal.

Comprising houses and bungalows, it has 336 rooms –229 standard and 107 superior– with AC, telephone, satellite TV, safety-deposit box (additional cost) and private bathroom. Ideal for couples and families with children, the superior rooms also have a coffee maker and stocked minibar.

Other facilities: Four restaurants, six bars, a discotheque, gym, sauna, three swimming pools (with area for children), beauty parlor, Internet, medical services, tourism desk, shops, car and motorbike rental. The Day Around service allows clients to enjoy the entire Resort’s offer.

Primera Avenida y Calle 1, Varadero, Matanzas Tel.: (53 45) 61 4416 Fax: (53 45) 66 7334 E-mail: reserva@kawama.gca. tur.cu Web: www.kawamahotel.cu

PUnTAREnA hOTEl **** Located at the entrance to Varadero, from where it stands this hotel offers an excellent panoramic view of the beach resort, as well as having a marvelous beach area.

255 rooms –101 double, 150 king size, 4 suites– with telephone, satellite TV, safety-deposit box, hairdryer, minibar, AC, private bathroom, a view of the canal or the sea.

Other facilities: Three restaurants, three bars, a discotheque, games room, diving and dance lessons, land and water sports, swimming pool for children and adults, sauna, medical ser vices, shops, art gallery, mini club, nanny service, money exchange, tourism desk, beauty parlor, laundry, wedding legal service, car rental and taxis.

Ave. Kawama y Final, Varadero, Matanzas Tel.: (53 45) 66 7125 – 29 Fax: 66 7074 y 66 8391 E-mail: reservas@puntarena.gca. tur.cu

VillA TORTUgA *** This hotel stands at the entrance to Varadero and very close to the center of the city, by the beach shoreline.

It comprises a hotel, houses and modules with 292 rooms –181 standard, 63 houses and 48 superior– with AC, telephone, satellite TV, safety-deposit box, private bathroom, balcony, view to the garden, to the sea or to the swimming pool.

Other facilities: Three restaurants, four bars, thematic nights, games, land and water sports, dance lessons, diving for beginners, swimming pool for children and adults, massages, beauty parlor, medical services, shops, tourism desk, money exchange, Internet, rental of motorbikes, cars and taxis.

Calle 7 e/ Ave. Kawama y Playa, Varadero, Matanzas Tel.: (53 45) 61 4747 Fax: 53 45) 66 7485 E-mail: reservas@villatortuga. tur.cu

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Varadero-matanzas-Ciénaga de Zapata Triad The diversity of attractions of Ma­ tanzas province has allowed it to stand out in tourism. Headed by Varadero beach resort, the offer set up with the city of Matanzas and the Zapata Peninsula pro­ vides a combined beach, nautical, city, nature and cultural product.

OnE OF VARADERO’S GREAT challenges is harmonizing sun and beach tourism with other modalities. The marketing of a broad range of circuits is one of the formulas taken on that makes it possible to get to know, in addition to local sites like the Josone Park, Cayo Blanco or the Varahicacos ecological reserve, others located in the same province. Excursions are organized from Varadero to Matanzas –City Tour, Bellamar Caves and Jeep Safari to the Yumurí-Río Canímar Valley (an option that includes rides on boats or motorboats through the river, horseback riding and bull riding)– as well as visits to Guamá (Ciénaga de Zapata).

Famous for more than two centuries as the Athens of Cuba, given its cultural life, the city

of Matanzas treasures a rich heritage and has been the cradle of illustrious artists, as well as of the danzón, Cuba’s national dance, and the danzonete. Some of the places that distinguish it as a cultural destination are: the Sauto Theater (currently undergoing a capital repair), the Ernesto Triolet French Pharmacy, the San Severino Castle, the Palmar de Junco

Sauto Theater.

Stadium –where the first baseball game was played in Cuba–, Ermita de Monserrate, Plaza de la Vigía and the Ediciones Vigía publishing house.

Classified as a Biosphere Reserve and Ramsar Site, the Península de Zapata national Park, to the south of the province, is one of Cuba’s first nature, ecotourism, adventure

and diving destinations. A trip on yacht to the Laguna del Tesoro, which takes visitors to the Guamá Tourist Center; to the Taino Village, an exact replica of a Cuban indigenous settlement; and to the Crocodile Farm –with some 10,000 specimens–, completes the circuit.

Using as a source the national Office of Statistics, we see that Varadero concentrates the largest number of hotel rooms in Cuba, 18,123 (34% of the total) and 34,986 job posts, grouped in 54 hotels. The principal markets that visited Matanzas in 2009 (the latest available figures), were as follows: Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy and France. ■ Guamá Tourist Center.

travel trade caribbean • year XI • issue 200

International Trinidad Tobago TRInIDAD AnD TOBAGO’S MInISTER of Tourism Rupert Griffith announced that the twin-island nation will play host to an International Culinary Festival in October. Griffith said that the festival will be a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Development Company (TDC) of Trinidad and Tobago.

The festival, which is expected to draw top culinary talent from the Caribbean, UK and Europe, will include competitions, live demonstrations and cultural displays.

st. maarten Establishes First national marine Park

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Culinary Festival in next October Minister Griffith’s announcement comes on the heels of last year’s successful hosting of the Taste T&T Culinary Festival in September. Focusing on education and community development, the Taste T&T Culinary Festival, a TDC and Ministry of Tourism initiative, comprised of two major elements - a two-day skills enhancement workshop featuring international Master Chefs and targeting local chefs, community cooks and culinary students, and a nation-wide roving community food festival and cooking competition. ■

THE FIRST nATIOnAL marine park - the Man of War Shoal Marine Park, opened in late December, is the first step St. Maarten has taken towards preserving the area known as the Proselyte Reef, the island's most important underwater habitat, said Travel Daily news web publication.

Franklin Meyers, the Island Minister of Economic Affairs, Tourism, Transportation and Tele-

communications, said “the development of the marine park has been long in the making and we are pleased to SXM Underwater 1 have begun the first and most crucial phase of the process. By creating the marine park, St. Maarten is taking steps to preserve the local environment as well as enhancing sustainable tourism,” he added.

The Proselyte Reef includes the island's most important ma-

rine habitat consisting of coral reefs and sea grass beds as well as a large population of aquatic mammals, including whales, dolphins, sharks, sea turtles and fish.

The reef also acts as a migratory stopover and breeding site for three IUCn Red List Species, 10 CITES Appendix I species and 89 Appendix II species. ■

Two New Islazul Hotels in Varadero: Club Karey and Club Tropical THE ISLAZUL HOTEL GROUP, present throughout the Cuban archipelago, is diversifying its lodgment options in Varadero with the incorporation of two pleasant hotels: Club Tropical and Club Karey, which have all the comforts to guarantee its guests an agreeable stay.

Islazul currently operates several installations in this beach resort, in

ClUB KAREy With a beautiful view of the 1.5 km long Varadero Canal, the majority of its houses have direct access to the beach. It has 135 rooms with AC, satellite TV, telephone, safety deposit box (additional cost) and refrigerator; three restaurants, one main buffet and two a la carte, specializing in international and Italian cuisine, a snack bar, beach restaurant, lobby bar and discotheque. It also has a gym, swimming pool for adults, massages, souvenir shop and boutiques, taxi service, post office, pharmacy, money exchange and Internet.

which it ensures the best quality-price relationship in this beach destination, hotels that operate as All Inclusive and others featuring other eating modalities. For those interested in Long Stays, the Islazul Hotel as well as the Mar del Sur Aparthotel have, in addition to their hotel rooms, one- and two-room apartments equipped for those travelers.

ClUB TROPiCAl Located by the beach shore, in the center of the city of Varadero, it operates under the All-Inclusive modality. Its 143 rooms, with AC and different facilities, are distributed in three blocks of rooms (superior, standard and apartments). Its facilities include two restaurants (international buffet and a la carte), lobby bar, snack bar, beach bar, a swimming pool that includes an area for children, nighttime and day entertainment, children’s mini club, non-motorized nautical sports, gym, money exchange, Internet, excursion sales desk, taxis, car and motorbike rental and crafts shop.

Islazul is becoming reasserted as one of the hotel chains with the widest coverage and diversity throughout Cuba. To get details about these hotels and others of the Islazul Group visit the www.islazul.cu site.

CubaMundo THE TURAL LIMITADA Travel Agency, whose head office is located in Santiago, Chile, was founded on August 24, 1995 and on December 16, 1999 it became a society of limited responsibility. A member of the IATA since its constitution, it is also a member of the Chilean Association of Tourism Companies A.G. (ACHET).

Winner in 1996 of the prize for the best Amadeus agency of the product in Chile, it is part of the JP Companies Group, whose president is Mr. Jürgen Paulmann. It has a representation in Havana, Cuba, which operates under the fantasy name CUBAMUnDO, accredited since 1996 through Gaviota Tours S.A., first, and since the last year Cubanacán Viajes. Its aim is the development, promotion, marketing and providing services for tourism, travel agencies and issuers, specialized adventure, ecotourism and diving tourism, nationally as well as internationally.

Its clients in Chile include ITT Water & Waste Water Chile S.A., Vag-Valves Chile S.A., Cencosud S.A., Alerce Andino Sociedad Comercial Ltda., Sumitomo Corporation Chile Ltda., Adelco Ltda. and many more, especially Chileans. It also actively markets its products via its agents and offices in Eastern Europe and Latin America.

One of the most tempting offers CUBAMUnDO has placed for the consideration of its clients, from its online site, is the package…

JUmBO CUBA Following are some of the variants of this offer: ■ 2 nights In Havana + 4 nights In Varadero + Super Gift: Panoramic Tour Of The City, transportation included.

■ “An unforgettable city tour” Tour around Old Havana and Modern Havana; includes a visit to the Bocoy rum factory and an incredible catamaran ride along part of Havana’s coast.

Varied offer of 16 combinations Starting at

27500 USD

Everything guaranteed with easy and safe payment directly from your credit card.

Jumbo Special Cayo Coco An ideal combination to enjoy the charms of the city and the heavenly beauty of the keys to the north of Ciego de Ávila; includes spectacular city tour with new and attractive options.

Jumbo Special Cayo Santa María Spectacular vacation offer to enjoy with the family or in couples; includes a city tour, enjoying Cayo Santa María, a blissful key to the north of Villa Clara with a beach of magnificent green-blue waters and sand as fine as dust.

Jumbo Special Guardalavaca-Holguín Get to know Havana, its traditions and customs, its people and its delicious food; enjoy a special city tour, lodgment in the capital of all Cubans and in Guardalavaca, at Holguín’s Blau Costa Verde Hotel, a marvelous place with beautiful beaches.

Online Reservations: www.cubamundo.com ■ Immediate Confirmation

travel trade caribbean • year XI • issue 200 CUBA CLOSED 2010 WITH a total of 2,531,745 visitors (2,506,970 classified as tourists and 24,775 as excursionists), an absolute record figure of arrivals, which represented an increase of 4.2% as compared to 2009.

Last year Cuba’s principal tourist markets were, in the following order, Canada, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Mexico, Argentina, Russia, Holland, Venezuela, Colombia, Portugal, Chile, Switzerland, Peru, Brazil and Belgium.

Tourist entities’ total income amounted to 1,567,145,600 CUC (convertible pesos), which represents a 3.8% increase as compared to the year before. Forty-

Cuban tourist entities’ income, 2010.

11

CUBA

Main Tourist Indicators

Tourist arrivals to Cuba from the principal markets, 2010.

one percent (641,747,000 CUC) came from gastronomy, followed by lodgment, transportation, retail commerce and recreation.

Hotels registered 16,293,165 foreign tourist / days (99.2% with respect to 2009); the average occupancy rate was 44.8%.

Fifty-one percent of the visitors were men and 49% were women. Thirty-nine percent of the tourists classified in the 25 to 44 age group and 29% between 45 and 59. ■

travel trade caribbean • year XI • issue 200

12 JUSTLY considered the second discoverer of Cuba for his numerous and in-depth studies, Alexander von Humboldt (Berlin 1769-1859), one of the last universal savants, was the Father of Universal Modern Geography and the first to make science popular.

Alejandro de Humboldt, thus known in Spanish, toured Cuba during two stays here between 1800 and 1804; he was the first to make a trustworthy outline of the island and explored its flora, fauna and geographical location. He made a detailed analysis of Cuban society in the early 19th century, enriching it with numerous political, economic, social and scientific data.

Humboldt’s imprint in Cuba is remembered in many different ways. The Alejandro de Humboldt House-Museum of the Office of the City of Havana Historian especially shows events in the life of the erudite German, his scientific work and his relationship with Cuba in terms of nature and society. Located in an 18th century building, its five exhibition halls have a permanent display of engravings, books, scientific instruments and copies of original documents, duly ordered and identified.

Honoring with his name the Alejandro de Humboldt national Park, one of the most important in the Caribbean, is a noble way of recognizing the work of the Prussian savant in the study of nature. Located in the provinces of Holguín and Guantánamo, this 59,400 – hectare park is the core zone of the Cuchillas del Toa Biosphere Reserve and is a World Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, one of the most important in the Caribbean. nature Heritage Site – declared by UnESCO in 1987 and 2001, respectively.

A major center of biodiversity in Cuba and the largest remnant of mountainous ecosystems and best conserved rainforest in Cuba and the Caribbean islands, it has many values: the Cuban region with the largest amount of precipitations and fluvial draining; habitat to 16 of the 28 vegetation formations defined for Cuba and to more than 150 locally endemic ones (the highest number of endemism, 70-80%, are reported); refuge to Cuban vertebrate species in danger of extinction, such as the almiquí (a primitive mammal considered a living fossil), the gavilán caguarero sparrow hawk and the three smallest species in the world – the butterfly bat, the Alto de Iberia little frog, which measures less than 11 mm, and the bee humAlejandro de Humboldt House-Museum, at Old Havana. mingbird, of approximately 63 mm. ■

Alexander von Humboldt’s Imprint in Cuba

CREATED by the national Bank of Cuba on December 11, 1975 as a cultural heritage institution, the numismatic Museum has three permanent exhibition halls and a collection of more than 160,000

NUMISMATIC MUSEUM

The Largest Collection of Cuban Coins

pieces representative of all the continents.

Located in the former Banco Mendoza, a building that conserves the excellent architecture of its façade, a model of the banking typology of the first two decades of last century, the Museum provides services of specialized library, expert in valuations and guided visits.

The Transitory Hall, dedicated to exhibitions on historic events or specific numismatic themes, allows private collectors to display their own exhibitions. Reserved for commemo-

rative pieces, the Medal Hall presents the evolution of coins in Cuba, on display according to stages: Proclamation of Independence, Spanish, the Republic and contemporary.

This showcase features the first bills printed in Cuba, authorized by the Spanish government starting 1855; the bills of the Republic of Cuba in Arms and cases with the first coins minted in Cuba.

Unquestionably, this is an excellent display of Cuban numismatics, very well defined and documented. ■

Mexican government looks for more cruise arrivals to Mexico Mexico Tourism Secretary Gloria Guevara said that further growth in the number of cruise arrivals is essential if Mexico is to maximize its potential as a tourist destination, “Tourism is a priority for Mexico.

That’s why President Felipe Calderon has declared 2011 the year of tourism with an important calendar of activities,” Guevara said during a meeting of the American Association of Port Authorities. She added that the Mexican government’s commitment to tourism will be seen in

a series of actions to facilitate “faster growth in the coming years” in that sector, which represents 9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

“The tourism industry is the country’s third-leading source of foreign currency (after oil and remittances) and there is great potential and opportunity there” in terms of Mexico’s economic growth, Guevara said. ■

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Interview with Léster Oliva, President of Cubatur Léster, how is Cubatur structured?

Cubatur Travel Agency is the company of its type with the most years of work and experience in Cuban tourism. On April 1 we will be celebrating 48 years of work with national and international tourism, mainly from the principal markets: Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Russia, Argentina and Mexico.

Present in all the tourist destinations, it has more than a thousand workers – more than 350 in functions related to integral tourist assistance and more than 300 specialized guides in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Czech, Chinese, Japanese and other languages.

It represents some 100 important tour operators and offers a wide variety of hotel and nonhotel national services in sectors such as culture, science, sports, education, flora and fauna, nautical and all those representing an attraction for our clients.

And which are Cubatur’s principal products?

Given our vocation for a service of excellence, we have created several companies that manage the principal products: International Sales, Events and Incentives and the provincial companies, which promote and market excursions in their destinations.

Cubatur offers integral assistance services in the country,

the hiring of specialized guides, assistance and representation to international tour operators; it organizes and coordinates circuits and combos, the Manejando Cuba (Fly & Drive), it tends to cruise tourists at ports and boarding and landing points, it guarantees lodgment reservations in different categories of hotels (stays), transportation, car rental, reservation and sale of national plane tickets and the chartering of planes.

In addition to this product portfolio, we offer specialized services in the organization of Events, Congresses and Incentives and in Specialized Tourism programs… watching of birds,

Viajes Cubanacán

CREATED BY A HEAD OFFICE, 13 specialized companies and 11 provincial ones, this travel agency has a sales network in Cuba with offices in the principal airports and tourism desks in numerous hotels. Associated to a great deal of the world’s major tour operators and travel agencies, it has guaranteed in recent years travel arrangements for around 40% of the tourists visiting the country. It has guides that speak more than 20 languages.

It operates a wide gamut of tourism modalities: Conventional Tourism – Circuits and tailor-made nature, beach and city tours.

Events and Incentives – With more than a decade of experience in this modality, it designs, organizes and carries out programs that combine working sessions with leisure and recreation.

Specialized Tourism – Its options include nature, Diving, Fishing, Health and Quality of Life, Senior Citizens and Youth programs.

Programs with Cars – For those who opt for driving a car through chosen routes (Flexi Fly and Drive, Fly and Drive and Car Rental).

Excursions and Tours – Their departure points are generally from the hotels. ■

reptiles and amphibians; trekking, cycling tourism, diving, motorcycle rallies, academic tourism and scientific programs.

Could you please tell us about Cubatur’s plans?

To continue consolidating the cruise operations we have assisted in this season, prepare ourselves for the new operations we are organizing with the markets: Argentina, nordic countries, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Portugal and UK; to take a strategic leap in the use of new technologies in online promotion and sales; to position our Specialized Tourism products: Una Inmersión en la Historia (An Immersion into History), diving in Santiago de Cuba’s sunken ships; Fotosafaris, a tour of Cuba taking photos; or discovering the life of Hemingway through the program that will be presented at FITCuba 2011, Hemingway’s Islands.

We are a group of devoted, noble, modest persons who give priority to their responsibility with our company. I am convinced that we will meet any goal we set for ourselves, because of the human resources we have. We appreciate the trust placed in us by our clients, tour operators, suppliers and institutions we work with to develop Cuban tourism. ■

Cubadeportes CUBADEPORTES Travel Agency, promoter of tourism and sports exchange, was created in 1992 based on the experience of the 11th Pan American Games and it focuses on specialized trips and academic, scientific and professional sports exchanges in Cuba, as well as the sending abroad of specialized technical assistance in all sports disciplines and sciences applied to sports.

A basic example of its work is the organization of international sports events in the country, in coordination with Cuban and foreign tour operators.

Every year it tends to more than 6,000 persons from 80 countries.

Services provided in Cuba: assistance to groups; local transportation; lodgment in hotel installations with specialized attention; emergency medical care; sports programs; training; tourist options; and scientific-technical services. ■

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Interview with Luis Enrique Sotolongo, President of the San Cristóbal Travel Agency How do you characterize San Cristóbal?

San Cristóbal Travel Agency, created on April 4, 1996 by the Habaguanex S.A. Tourism Company, emerged with different and tempting proposals for the historic-cultural product.

The principal value of the programs and routes we propose to clients is Old Havana, its hotels with their charms, its good cuisine and its environment, combined with the history and culture of our country. We operate mainly in old cities and locations and historical centers like Trinidad, Cienfuegos and Camagüey; and other heritage or protected sites.

The agency is characterized by a high level of services for clients who like the specialized product, who enjoy culture and history, guided by a high professional travel organization; we stand out for our professional guides.

Plus, the specialization of San Cristóbal in the segment of incentive travel, which seeks an elite product with a permanent assistance in the destination.

Which are your principal products?

We have developed studies to seek the

THE HAVAnATUR S.A. International Group of Tour Operators and Travel Agencies has been in the international market for more than three decades as a leader in the promotion and marketing of Cuba. Throughout these years its condition as a 100% Cuban tour operator has increased and it has been accredited in the world as “the Cuba specialist.”

Pioneer in the negotiation of tourist markets to Cuba, ever since its foundation it established associations with foreign tour operators and created its own travel agencies in the principal tourist markets. The Group is cur-

most autochthonous of our culture and history; thus we have created specialized routes and whole programs on themes such as architecture, religion, archaeology, Havana cigars, fortresses, the restoration works of the historic center, illustrious personalities and intellectuals, among others.

The 2011 product portfolio includes new offers: Photo Tour Click of Cuba, for art and photography aficionados; Panorama of Cuban Architecture, which shows the authenticity of cities and conserved architectural works; Cuba and its Economic, Social and Cultural Development, one of the Historic Center of Havana’s experiences and the progress made in the conservation and restoration of historic cities.

And the projection for the upcoming seasons?

The year 2010 had very good results with a 34% increase in income.

To continue working in the diversification of the historic-cultural product is a goal to which we aspire in such a competitive world we live in today. We have the force of creativity and imagination to thus give the best of our roots and customs and show our most beautiful feature, our people.

In the international sphere we are living moments to demonstrate capacity, strength and proven reasons that convince that Cuba is a magnificent destination in the Caribbean and that we offer safety and pleasure. Traveling will continue being what is expected by many during their vacations or in the world of business or international events. We hope that the San Cristóbal Travel Agency will have a 2011 with growing success, with the strength of the Habaguanex Company and the guidance of the Office of the Historian, based on common strategies that today are already in action in the markets. ■

Cuba

With Havanatur rently made up by more than 14 agencies: in the Americas (Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Canada); Europe (Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Russia and Spain) and the Caribbean (Bahamas).

In the country, it is the only Cuban tour operator that also has its own travel agency, Tour & Travel, which serves as operational support for the reception and attention of clients with more than 100 guides. It also has eight repre-

sentation offices in the country’s principal tourist destinations.

Its other agency, Havanatur Celimar, has specialized in trips from and to the United States. It stands out for air operations in the country’s different airports and circuits, programs and transportation.

For open tours through the island, Havanatur offers rent-a-car services at airports, hotels and tourist destinations. It has a global system of Amadeus air tick-

ets in more than 10 of its own branches and its wide-ranging sales network –national and international air tickets.

It operates conventional and specialized tourism, in the modalities of diving, nature, academic, cultural, health, congresses and incentives and multidestination trips – combining Cuba with Cancún, Mexico City, Mérida, Guatemala, nassau, Costa Rica, Venezuela, nicaragua, Ecuador and Panama.

Havanatur is a member of the Latin American Tourism Organizations, the Caribbean Tourism Organization and the International Air Transport Association.■

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GAvIOTA TOURS

Fifteen Years Making What’s Natural, Ours

CUBA’S GAVIOTA TOURS S.A. TRAVEL AGEnCY, belonging to the Gaviota Tourism Group, is celebrating its 15 years. Emerging in Varadero, today it is represented in the country’s principal tourist centers: Havana, Varadero, Cayo Santa María, Holguín, Santiago de Cuba and Baracoa. It has a flexible structure, ideal for responding to any request.

The agency has championed the enjoyment of the width and length of our island, pure nature in places such as Cayo Santa María, Topes de Collantes, Cayo Saetía and Pinares de Mayarí; its urban landscapes full of history and tradition in Havana, Trinidad, Holguín, Santiago de Cuba, Baracoa; and its cheerful and hospitable people, always in defense of the natural.

A professional staff with experienced guides complete the success of the offers: excursions, stays, restaurants and nightspots; specialized reception at airports; attention to conventional, special or incentive groups; representation of tour operators before the Chamber of Commerce of Cuba; assistance to tourists; transportation; organization of tailor-made tour programs and car rental; always adapting to the needs of tour operators, agencies and final clients to achieve an attractive quality-price relationship.

The agency also has the infrastructure of the Gaviota Tourism Group, which includes three-, four- and five-star Gaviota Hotels throughout the island; the comfortable Transgaviota tourist transportation; the Rent a Car Via; the specialized services of Marinas Gaviota; the Aerogaviota airline; and an attractive non-hotel offer. It also manages the facilities of the rest of the hotel and non-hotel chains and of the airlines that operate in the destination.

It is a harmonious enterprise, with defined priorities and focused on achieving results. In that direction, the tendency has been towards growth since the start of its operations. Today, the guarantee of a greater competitiveness is backed by the Certification of the Quality Management System based on the nC-ISO 9001:2008. ■ COnTACT Ave 47 no. 2833 e/ 28 y 34, Reparto Kohly, Municipio Playa, La Habana Tels: (53 7) 2079481 / 2047526 E-mail: comunicacion@gaviotatours.cu Web: www.gaviota-grupo.com

Amistur: A People-to-People Bridge AMISTUR, THE TRAVEL AGEnCY of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, created in 1994, markets programs for sociopolitical to groups, personalities, friends and work brigades that travel to Cuba, with the backing of international friendship organizations and countries from all over the world, tour operators and travel agencies.

Amistur has the capacity to offer personalized attention and satisfy the specific interests of visitors who wish to get to know Cuba

from a different standpoint to the one perceived from the promotion as a tourist destination. This is possible thanks to its strong ties with solidarity with Cuba groups in the world, friends who want to get to know the reality of the Cuban people.

Its principal objective is to favor tourists’ direct contact with the most important factor in the country’s social dynamics, its people.

Amistur has organized the trips of numerous international solidarity with Cuba brigades,

whose members support collaboration projects and combine community, agricultural or construction work with leisure and the full enjoyment of the destination’s attractions. ■ COnTACT Avenida Paseo no. 406 e/17 y 19, Vedado, La Habana Tel.: 833-2374 / 834-4544 / Fax: 838-3753 E-mail: amistur@amistur.cu comercial@amistur.cu

HAvANA’S DElUxE RESTAUR ANTS

A Place for Each Occasion...

LITERALLY FAITHFUL TO ITS SLOGAn, A place for each occasion, Havana has in the Deluxe Restaurants Company a varied network of establishments in centrally located places whose diverse gastronomic offer satisfy the demand of the most dissimilar and demanding clients, for each moment or for each occasion.

From luxurious and dazzling restaurants for formal suppers and lunches, following the strictest gourmet protocol, to light food cafeterias where travelers make a pause to recover

mOnsEignEUR International cuisine with conventional Frenchstyle deluxe service.

Quite a classic of Havana nights, it still conserves the charm of the 1950s. Famous for its excellent cuisine, red meat, fish and seafood.

Calle O No. 122 esquina a 21, Vedado Tel.: +537 832 9884

lAs BUlERíAs Spanish cuisine A sort of Spanish tavern that attracts for its typical Spanish dishes, with touches of Cuban cuisine.

Calle L No. 434 entre 23 y 25, Vedado Tel.: +537 832 3283

from the exhausting walks through the streets of Havana; be it in family, among friends or simply alone.

For businesspeople, Deluxe Restaurants displays its spaces for meetings, in several meeting rooms, working breakfasts or suppers. Places that can also be used for musical sessions, weddings, parties, birthdays or other celebrations.

Classical, modern, elegant and functional, each one has a history behind it, its own

EmPERADOR International haute cuisine A favorite for the quality and garnish of its food, the fish, seafood and red meats stand out among the exquisite dishes featured on its a la carte menu.

Calle 17 entre M y N, Edificio Focsa, Vedado Tel.: +537 832 4998

CEnTRO VAsCO Basque cuisine Gastronomic complex, whose menu stands out for its codfish, seafood, chops, paellas and vascada – the house dish.

Calle 3ra No. 413 esquina a 4, Vedado Tel.: +537 830 9836

charms, traditions and legends. And in common, the conservation of styles, comfort, refinement, sobriety and committed to the “house dish,” in traditional Cuban as well as international cuisine.

Surrounded by a retro aura of the 1950s, the Deluxe Restaurants are undoubtedly the right places to enjoy the pleasure and the art of good cooking. They treasure, as their most prized jewels, eight restaurants that identify them. ■

El COnEJiTO International cuisine specializing in rabbit A restaurant bar that recreates an 18th century English tavern; its menu includes, in addition to rabbit meat dishes, others of international cuisine.

Calle 17 esquina a M, Vedado Tel.: +537 832 4671

hURón AZUl Cuban 21st century cuisine It offers exquisite and original dishes in which the fusion of meats and fish with sugarcane juice, honey, peanuts, coconut, rum and other typical Cuban seasonings predominate.

Humboldt esquina a P, Vedado Tels.: +537-833-3176 +537-833-3178

sOFíA Cuban and international cuisine Bar cafeteria whose offer ranges from formality, in its private room, to light food, in its cafeteria open round the clock.

Calle 23 No. 202 esquina a O, Vedado Tel.: +537 832 0740

TRAsTEVERE Italian and international cuisine Its downtown location in a populous commercial area and its diverse menu make it attractive for a broad gamut of public.

Calle Galiano e/ Concordia y Neptuno, Centro Habana Tel.: +537 866 0295

Calle 19 no. 552, esquina D, Vedado, La Habana Tels: +537-8304292 / 8323525 ext. 102 E-mail: direccion@rl.ch.gov.cu

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PARADISO

The Best Option to Get to Know Cuba through its Culture

THE PARADISO CULTURAL TOURISM AGEnCY, dedicated to the promotion and marketing of the island’s cultural tourism product, has designed a mature and professional offer of cultural tourism, together with hotel chains, transportation companies and other agencies.

For specialized clients it offers cultural festivals and events, such as the Book and Cubadisco international fairs; the Varadero Jam Session, Gibara Low-Budget Film, new Latin American Film and Ballet international festivals; and the International Meeting of Ballet Academies.

Paradiso also organizes tailor-made programs for incentive or specialized groups, excursions and thematic cultural tours; lessons in popular dance, music, language, painting, variety shows and other manifestations; courses, workshops, master’s degrees, postgraduate studies and degrees. ■

Jamaica’s Third International Airport Officially Opened THE JAMAICA PRIME Minister Bruce Golding officially opened the Jamaica’s third international airport. The Ian Fleming International Airport is located just five miles from Ocho Rios, and has undergone a series of developments to accommodate the arrival of private international aircraft as large as the Dash-8. Speaking at the official opening of the facility, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism

Edmund Bartlett said that “we are tremendously encouraged about the growth prospects for the island’s tourism.

“The opening of Jamaica’s third international airport is a positive step in our continued efforts to enhance our tourism infrastructure and sustain our position as a leading tourism destination,” said Jamaica’s Director of Tourism John Lynch. ■

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Mercedes Oviedo, a Caribbean Touch to Jewelry A CREATOR OF JEWELRY, costume jewelry and accessories, as well as a couturier and journalist, the work of María Mercedes Oviedo Ramos (1949), with her Arte Lidia 7 brand name, features diverse tendencies with her own designs and style. She uses natural materials like mother-ofMAYRA YAnES VALIDO (Havana, 1962), painter, draftswoman and ceramist. Self-taught, she has complemented her born skills with the study of drawing, painting and ceramic techniques and the production of shows, theatre and dance.

Mayra’s pictorial proposal can be identified through its gestural and incisive stroke, the ardent and affable color, the insinuating textures, as well as the intense and incandescent tropical light. She embraces the figurative tendency and is familiar with the impressionist influence that recurrently appears in her works. Perhaps the gestural is more underlined in the expressionist codes that are also enrolled.

Mayra’s work is validated by an intense and progressive production that since 1999 has not stopped her vertiginous rise, expressed in the sequence of 15 personal exhibitions in Cuba and Spain, and about 50 collective exhibitions and contests.

pearl (natural element of light), cultured pearls and other marine beings; semiprecious stones, set in silver thread, crystal and glass beads.

From her hands flourish women’s adornments made with Cuban seeds set in handmade beads, of her creation, with disposable

Mayra Yanes, Authentic Architect of Color

An indefatigable creator, she takes her art to very diverse spaces. Winner of several prizes and mentions, her work has been marketed in expo sales in art galleries and hotels, fairs and other exhibition grounds. ■

The art fairs, especially the FIART International Crafts Fair, stand out among the events in which Mayra participates in every edition. Her curriculum contains several publications in Cuba and Portugal.

Yasser Reflects the Faces of His Spectators YASSER GAMOnEDA Montero (Havana, 1971). Self-taught painter and ceramist. In the last 15 years he has made incursions into a pictorial work with a marked surrealist tendency, permanently nurtured with elements of daily life that transmit to spectators a discourse full of symbols and enriched with his characters who, although they are on paper, an apparently fragile material, come to be the pillars of a visualization where feelings, desires, emotions and human miseries force us to feel we are protagonists of these artistic creations.

materials, following a retro trend in the style of the 1960s, which varnished and combined give a Caribbean touch to her earrings, necklaces or bracelets.

Some 25 displays and exhibitions in very dissimilar spaces in Cuba and Italy, and more than a dozen medals, distinctions and recognitions related to the culture sector, launch an intense career and bear witness to her work and the acceptance of her handmade work. ■

The use of mixed technique with predominance in the use of acrylics, oil paints and natural elements incorporated into the support enrich the global reality which Gamoneda captures in his paintings. According to the artist, “The best portrait of reality is the faces of the spectators, which see themselves reflected in what I express in my paintings.”

He has notched up seven personal exhibitions and around 20 collective displays. Especially important is a Cuban traveling display through diverse Chilean cities. His systematic incursions into digital art have crystallized in a series of publications on web pages of cultural institutions of Cuba, Chile and Spain.

His works are present in private collections in Curacao, Ecuador, Spain, Guatemala, Jamaica, Italy, new Zealand, the United States and Canada. ■

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May 2011 - XV Anniversary

TTC newSP newSPaPer

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Edition no. o. 4 BMT Italy Edition no. 5 FITCuba Cuba Edition no. 6 Top Resa France Edition no. 7 TTG Incontri Italy Edition no. o. 8 WTM United Kingdom Edition no. o. 9 Fihav Cuba

monograPhiC Cuba Caribbean oPeraTorS book (Cob) TouriST direCTory

xv ANNIvERSARy OF TTC

Will be launched for the 15th Anniversary of TTC, in May 2011, and in the framework of FITCuba 2011. In Spanish, Italian and English, it will include a description of the destination and a list of its entities.

Photography Contest Rules 1.

2.

3.

4.

The TTC Weekly News electronic bulletin will continue to come out as well as the online Caribbean Operators Book (COB) Tourist Directory at http://www.caribbeanoperatorsbook.com. formaTS, raTeS and PubliCiTy

Italy: ttc.italia@gmail.com Caribbean: marketing@traveltradecaribbean.com 5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

www.traveltradecaribbean.com

All interested persons can participate The selected theme is “Cuba Destination” The photos must have been taken in Cuba, starting 2007 Up to five works can be sent in, printed in 300 dpi format of 30 X 40 cm and the digital version in .tiff format, on DVD/CD by email or by FTP, with the following author’s data: Titles of the works / names and last surnames of the author / Home address / Telephone number / Email address / Work or study center Closing entry date is March 31, 2011 One Grand Prize, two prizes and mentions will be awarded The results will be announced in May 2011, at the Main Activity for the XV Anniversary of TTC, in the framework of FITCuba 2011 The contesting works will be exhibited at the XV Anniversary of TCC Photography Contest Photo Gallery, at www.traveltradecaribbean.com The contesting works will form part of the photo collection of TTC for their possible publication, always acknowledging the name of the author; and a selection will be exhibited in a gallery.

Sending in of workS

1. Printed and on DVD/CD ■ From Cuba: to San Ramón # 664 entre San Dionisio y Avenida del Carmen, Celimar, Habana del Este, La Habana, Cuba ■ From abroad: to TTC Travel Trade Caribbean, Via Galileo Galilei, 47, 20092, Cinisello Balsamo, Milan, Italy e-mail

photos@traveltradecaribbean.com arTiSTS who have donaTed workS aS PrizeS for winnerS of Xv anniverSary of TTC PhoTograPhy ConTeST

1. Cecilio Avilés Montalvo | painting 2. Rubén Fernández Leal | painting 3. Mayra Yanes Valido | ceramics / painting

fTP

ftp.traveltradecaribbean.com/photos Jury

President: Julio Ángel Larramendi Joa Members: Fernando Francisco Valdés Álvarez and Hubert Delestre Carmell

4. Yasser Gamoneda Montero | painting 5. Ramón Pérez Pereira | engraving 6. José Ramón Blanco - VIAnKO | painting 7. María Mercedes Oviedo Ramos | jewelry 8. Alonso Fleitas | painting

PrizeS

Stays, with a companion, in two Gran Caribe hotels: Villa Cuba Resort, three nights in an All-Inclusive plan, and the Hotel nacional de Cuba, for two nights in CP plan; Excursions with a companion: Original works by Cuban artists.■

PHOTO: OCCIDENTAL MIRAMAR, COURTESY OCCIDENTAL HOTELS AND RESORTS. HAVANA, CUBA.

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