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International Tourism Publication founded in 1996 Year XII • Issue 211 • May 2012 • Regular 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

Cuba Just as It is, Authentic The interview granted to TTC by Minister of Tourism Manuel Marrero Cruz is about the course of Cuban tourism in 2012, new air connections, the principal investments, tourism modalities, as well as the products Cuba will present at FITCuba 2012, among other aspects.

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Villa Clara’s Keys, the Venue

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Cuban Tourist Industry Grows in Numbers in 2012

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Galapagos Islands

Cuba-Trinidad and Tobago Trade Relations Going Well

Cayo Santa María. Photo: Publicitur

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Ecuador Opens its Doors to Investment in Tourism The interview granted to TTC by Ecuadoran Ambassador to Cuba Mr. Edgar Ponce Iturriaga is about Ecuador as a tourist destination, its attributes and perspectives.

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TTC Invite to Launching of COB Monographic Cuba at FITCuba

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New WTO Board Elected WTO’s over 400 affiliate members, including some of the world’s leading tourism organizations and companies, have elected their new Board and Chairman for the period 2012-2013.

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New Air Connections

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Varadero Stamps Seal of Quality on Constructions for Tourism

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Argentine Arrivals to Cuba Increase IT WAS WELL worth dedicating the 32nd International Tourism Fair FITCuba 2012 to Argentina, as a the country guest of honor, since it is a market that closed 2011 with a 29.6% increase in the number of travelers, ranking it in ninth place among the island’s issuing markets. Moreover, by January 2012 it already held second place, a position that it maintained in the months of January and February, according to recent official data from the National Office of Statistics, available at the close of this edition.

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

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Ecuador Opens its Doors to Investment in Tourism

Editorial Staff for Italy

Mr. Ambassador, how has the f low of tourists behaved in Ecuador?

The number of tourists who visited Ecuador in the first month of 2012 increased 9%, as compared to the same period in 2011. According to Ecuadoran Minister of Tourism Freddy Ehlers, 127,119 foreign tourists visited Ecuador in January, as compared to 105,541 in the same month last year.

This growth ratifies that our country has become one of the region’s most powerful focuses of tourist interest.

What actions has Ecuador implemented to promote the tourist industry?

The Ministry of Tourism renewed an agreement with the National Finance Corporation of Ecuador with the aim of financing complementary activities regarding what has been called the smokeless industry.

The agreement includes the granting of credits to persons who work for tourism, the owners of service establishments or activities registered by the Ministry of Tourism.

Andro Liuben PÉREZ DIZ

At present, the dynamics of this industry is seen as active and buoyant thanks to an intense promotion agenda of the country brand, developed throughout 2011. Ecuador’s participation in 69 international events and fairs and 44 national ones allowed it to irrupt into new and important markets issuing visitors.

Moreover, promotion campaigns were carried out and there was close work with the specialized press and tour operators to strengthen the communication strategy on the Internet and other distribution channels, placing emphasis on the new country brand Ecuador loves life.

In that sense, Ecuador has worked on the intense training of workers and professionals who carry out their work in this field of the economy; tourist signposting was improved to turn the country into a friendlier and more agreeable destination; and economic, educational and logistics support work began for the small and medium-sized companies with initiatives that complement tourist services.

The government also increased tenfold the budget for the Ministry of Tourism in the last 15 years, which will result in the increase of tourist arrivals.

A recent survey by the international magazine Living ranks Ecuador in 2012 as one of the most important retirement paradises of the world, especially for those persons seeking peaceful, comfortable and relaxing places.

Undoubtedly, Ecuador is betting on the tourist industry; we want it to be a showcase of its nature, its people and the government is set on promoting the image that ref lects a country forging ahead. Ecuador has much to offer the world, not just its geography, fauna, f lora, but also its people.

It is important to point out that in terms of the infrastructure works, emphasis has been put fundamentally on the highways; today we say with pride that Ecuador has top-class highways, several of them comparable to those of the first world.

Tiziana SETTANNI redazione.italia@traveltradecaribbean.com ttc.italia@gmail.com Tel.: +39 02 36649724 Fax: +39 02 36649724 Editorial Staff for Cuba Josefina PICHARDO redaccion@traveltradecaribbean.com Design

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

Cuba Just as It is, Authentic Interview with Manuel Marrero Cruz, Cuban Minister of Tourism

Minister, how is Cuban tourism marching in 2012, in terms of arrivals from the principal issuing markets?

To speak about this 2012, we should remember that 2011 was a good year for the Cuban tourist sector, with a 7.3% growth in the number of arrivals and diverse records. Several of the principal issuing markets surpassed their historic arrival figures, especially Canada, Russia, Argentina, Chile and China.

This year has started well, and although at a lower rate than in 2011, growth has continued.

The Cuban tourist industry is closing the first quarter with a 5.3% growth in arrivals and 12% percent in income.

Canada, Argentina, Russia, Germany, France, Mexico and Scandinavia are marking the biggest increases in the first quarter and should maintain that tendency during the rest of the year. Other countries like Colombia, Peru and Holland should grow in an important way in their contribution of visitors to the destination.

Regions like Varadero, Havana, Cayo Santa María, Trinidad, Cienfuegos and Pinar del Río have benefitted from a high demand and have achieved their highest historic occupancies for a first quarter.

In this first period of the year we have also carried out a very important group of events that have been characterized by a high participation of international delegations, like Universidad 2012, the Havana Cigar Festival, the Havana Biennial and other smaller ones but no less important, like the Varadero Gourmet International Festival and the Montecristo Golf Cup Tournament.

Have new air connections been previewed that will favor the flow of tourists from certain markets for the upcoming seasons?

Flights are being increased from new cities in Canada, Scandinavia, Italy and the direct frequencies are increasing from Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Colombia and Russia. New air connections are presently being negotiated with other important issuing markets like Portugal, Austria, Holland, Ukraine, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Work is underway to diversify the markets with direct flights to developing destinations like Cayo Santa María and Jardines del Rey.

Could you speak about the principal investments Cuba is executing in the tourist sector?

In 2012 we will be focusing on the reanimation and revitalization of existing installations in the hotel sector and on the construction of new hotels. In the sphere of the non-hotel sector, the investments are associated to the construction of dolphinariums, marinas and golf courses, all of which, of course, is based on the preservation of our environment and sustainability.

The preparation of new hotels in Varadero, Cayo Santa María, Cayo Coco, Guardalavaca and Trinidad is concluding.

Trinidad is precisely a destination advancing in its development, with the con-

clusion in 2011 of La Ronda Hotel, the start of the Pansea Trinidad Hotel and the preparation of a five-star hotel with Iberostar on Ancón beach, as well as the Palacio Iznaga Hotel.

At this moment we have a dynamic of development of new investments that is higher than on previous years, about which we will speak at the inauguration of the May 8 Fair.

Which tourism modalities are being considered among the development priorities?

We are mainly focusing on continuing to diversify our tourist offer, permanently upgrading our sun and beach product and introducing new programs of tours of heritage cities and cultural circuits that are having

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

such great demand and, in addition, recreational nautical activities, positioning with greater force nature, youth, adventure, family and health tourism.

Parallel to this, we are working speedily to develop golf – with the construction of new courses associated to real estate development -, and we want to boost cruise tourism.

What are the perspectives for conventions tourism?

Cuba has excellent facilities for the development of this modality in many of its tourist destinations and in several of the country’s principal cities. For several years we have been increasing the acceptance of our Destination in this modality and we are convinced we will have a considerable development during the upcoming period.

Does Cuba plan to continue strengthening multi-destination with the Caribbean area?

Of course. The Caribbean has a great cultural wealth, an exuberant nature and an exoticism that make travelers try to get to know a destination in each visit. Cuba will continue favoring a policy of links with other islands and the Central American Caribbean to the interest of the development of all our peoples.

Which are the principal products Cuba will present at the International Tourism Fair FITCuba 2012?

FITCuba 2012 will take place, as has already been announced, from May 8 to 11 on Cayo Santa María, to the north of Villa Clara, and on this occasion it will be dedicated to Argentina as issuing market and to family tourism as tourist product.

Villa Clara’s keys will be the main features of this event, since they have become, because of their exclusive geographical location, a novel concept of tourist destination for Cuba, putting at the disposition of visitors the aquarium-dolphinarium, marina

and the towns of La Estrella and Las Dunas, among other attractions. The wide portfolio of excursions that can be accessed from there is also one of its principal attractions, since it allows visitors to discover from Havana to the traditional Trinidad, passing through Remedios, Santa Clara and Topes de Collantes.

The event’s principal objectives include giving continuity to the marketing work carried out since the previous edition of the fair, boosting the attractions of the island and strengthening the Destination’s communication.

It will be a great opportunity to meet with tour operators, travel agencies and airlines visiting us, to share with them the projections and strategies of the Cuba Destination for the next 2012-2013 summer and winter season.

Is there any other aspect you want to speak about?

Cuba offers foreign visitors a highly safe destination – this is one of our strong points – in which excellent beaches are combined with another important group of attractions like heritage cities, nautical activities, dolphinariums, zoos, botanical gardens, museums, natural landscapes with specialized paths and a well-developed network of restaurants capable of satisfying all tastes.

These values are primordial for those who visit us, and turn us into an ideal destination for family tourism, a product to which we have dedicated, as I mentioned above, the present edition of FITCuba.

Quality, diversification and innovation are the words of the day for the Cuban tourist sector, and I can affirm that the results we have obtained until now place us in a better position to continue upgrading our product, in favor of satisfying those who choose us as a vacation destination. We are very sure that what has been achieved shows us the road

Nature tourism is one of the modalities being positioned with the most strength.

to follow to continue diversifying our tourist product, making it more exclusive, more competitive, taking advantage of all our attributes, increasingly offering more quality and safety to our clients and for this we have what is most important and irreplaceable, our hospitable people ready to show our Cuba just as it is, Authentic. ■

Trinidad is a destination that is advancing in its development.

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

BLUE PANORAMA AIRLINES

Ten Years of Alliance with Cuba and Cubana Airlines

Franco Pecci, chairman of Blue Panorama Airlines.

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ext May 9 Blue Panorama Airlines will celebrate 10 years of alliance with Cuba and Cubana Airlines. In fact, on May 9, 2002, Blue Panorama Airlines operated its first flight to Havana after receiving the first Boeing 767-300 ER, on behalf of Cubana Air-

lines, by virtue of an agreement that at the time previewed two weekly flights.

This important anniversary demonstrates how Blue Panorama is naturally linked to Cuba and to one of its principal economic actors – precisely Cubana Airlines –, in the commercial as well as in the “sentimental” aspects. The 10th anniversary of the alliance is being celebrated parallel to the 31st edition of FITCuba, the International Tourism Fair, to be held in Cayo Santa María from May 8 to 11.

FITCuba is the most important event of the Cuban tourist industry. It is attended by travel agencies, tour operators, hotels, restaurants and cultural institutions of the Cuban people with the aim of promoting the products and services than can be offered to tourists on their vacations, an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas and establish commercial contacts with foreign companies.

Blue Panorama confirms this relationship through the presentation of a program for the next summer of 2012, given that its role is increasingly more important on the island, in a wide range of destinations that make it possible to reach Cuba from east to west – Holguín, Santiago de Cuba, Cayo Largo and Havana – with flights that depart from Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino and Verona, and makes it the cornerstone of its leadership on the principal Caribbean islands and destinations.

The link with Cuba and Cubana Airlines is confirmed through the renovation, for the 11th consecutive year, of the commercial agreement with the island’s flagship airline, whose connections with Italy are operated by Blue Panorama Airlines aircraft. Founded in 1929, Cubana Airlines was one of the first

companies in the world to operate commercial flights, as well as being a founding member of the IATA, SITA and AITAL, which corresponds to the IATA of Latin America.

Today, it is the leader in Cuba for the transportation of passengers, freight and mail.

In 10 years of alliance, Blue Panorama Airlines has firmly maintained its market share in addition to the 55% quota, thanks to the collaboration of the best tour operators - Alpitour, Condor, Eden Viaggi, Havanatur, Viaggi del Mappamondo, Phone and go, Press Tour, Swan Tour, Un Altro Sole, Veratour – and the distribution in the market of Distal, the company’s general sales agent, transporting more than 1.2 million passengers.

“Ten years of alliance is an important landmark in the life of the two companies and of the persons who are part of them.

This event is for Blue Panorama Airlines reason of great pride for being chosen by a prestigious partner like Cubana Airlines and has a special meaning for the relationship that united us to Cuba, one of the most charming places on Earth,” Franco Pecci, chairman of Blue Panorama Airlines, said. This alliance is a lasting example of an “Italian and Cuban success and we are committed to consolidate it by offering our passengers services inspired on the constant search for improvement and on the growth in quality.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.blue-panorama.com www.blu-express.com Michele Sabatini Ufficio Stampa Blue Panorama Airlines + 39 0665508608 / +39 3883024705 ufficiostampa@blue-panorama.com

New WTO Board Elected IN LINE WITH a new electoral process, 23 members were elected to the WTO Board of Affiliate Members. The Association of Greek Tourist Enterprises (SETE), represented by its Director General, George Drakopoulos, was elected to Chair the Board.

WTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai welcomed the new Board and Chair of the Affiliate Members, highlighting the im-

portance of the affiliate members to the work of the Organization. “WTO is among the few UN agencies to include in its

constituency representatives of the private sector, academia and civil society,” Rifai said.

The affiliate members are companies, organizations, destinations, NGOs, educational institutions or bodies whose activities are related to tourism and which contribute their knowledge and expertise to WTO to promote the development of responsible, sustainable and accessible tourism.

TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

LABIOFAM BUSINESS GROUP

■ By Liliam Lee Hernández

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ust a few days away from celebrating its first half century of being founded, and after a long process of evolution and consolidated transformations, today’s LABIOFAM Business Group is implementing ways of doing, new work styles that have allowed it to gradually expand its product portfolio and, with it, a greater presence in the national and international market.

The Cuban scientific institution is able to meet the demand of 98% of the veterinary pharmaceuticals the country needs. However, the re-dimensioning of its industry has motivated covering new research areas for human health.

Natural medicine, that empirical knowledge born of the oldest tradition, has been the indisputable source for, with the incorporation of a scientific endorsement, registering several formulations for dietary supplements, colds and anemia that form part of a long list of products to raise the quality of life of human beings.

With recognized antioxidant, analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, the natural homeopathic compound Vidatox 30 CH, a biopreparation whose active principle is the venom of the Cuban scorpion Rhopalurus junceus, is one of LABIOFAM’s pharmaceutical products with the highest demand inside and outside the country.

This product is the fruit of more than 15 years of research, a source for development and the registry of new formulations like the Vidatox Plus and others that are still in the study stage.

Other natural compounds like the Ferrical, the Asmacán, the gamut of Vimang products, Acitán, Spirulina, among others, are also widely demanded for the already recognized quality and high level of reliability of the productions of the LABIOFAM Business Group.

A NEW CONGRESS And all this effort in the field of research and the production of biopharmaceuticals, plus other spheres linked to vectorial control and biofertilizers will be subjects to be developed during the 2nd LABIOFAM International Congress, which will be held in the Havana Convention Center from September 24 to 28, 2012.

At the new edition of the scientific meeting the LABIOFAM Business Group, an institution responsible for responding to the demands of veterinary medicine in Cuba, will present its most recent research results in the development of veterinary products, biosecurity, the practical experience in the use of pharmaceutical products

Products and Services,

The natural compounds of the LABIOFAM Business Group are widely demanded for their recognized quality and high level of reliability.

and homeopathic compounds for veterinary medicine.

The natural products as an alternative for human health will also acquire singular importance in the event. The studies linked to the venom of the scorpion Rhopalurus junceus have awakened great interest in the international scientific community because of its properties.

During the Congress, the new values of the aforementioned natural substance employed today for the production of Vidatox 30 CH and Vidatox Plus, medicines for human use set to become leaders in the LABIOFAM Business Group, will be revealed.

Several master lectures have been previewed for the event, given by renowned Cuban and foreign researchers, and there will be roundtables, symposiums, promotion of products in an exhibition and trade fair paral-

Vidatox 30 CH and Vidatox Plus, medicines for human use, are set to become leaders within the LABIOFAM Business Group.

lel to the scientific event as well as the presentation of posters.

In addition to the subjects linked to the experiences in the control of epidemics through the use of biological methods and the development of prebiotic and probiotic food for human and animal use, for the first time in this type of meeting there will be discussions on biopesticides and biofertilizers for use in agriculture, a line of products recently incorporated to the Business Group.

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF FOUNDATION

for a Better Quality of Life

ALONG THE PATHS OF THE RHOPALURUS JUNCEUS The participants in the 2nd International Congress will have a unique experience and opportunity. The LABIOFAM Business Group is organizing an excursion to the Hanabanilla National Park, a central region of the country that stands out for its singular natural beauty.

Guided by a specialist, the delegates will get to know about the characteristics of the environment in which the Cuban scorpion Rhopalurus junceus develops. The natural values of the species in its environment, its adaptations to evade predators, the search and

2nd LABIOFAM International Congress From September 24 to 28, 2012 Havana Convention Center

Rhopalurus junceus in its natural habitat.

capture of specimens in different stages of development, as well as a detailed explanation of the principal differences among sexes will be some of the aspects that the trekkers will get to know.

The visit to the LABIOFAM Business Group’s scorpion farm, in Villa Clara, has also been previewed.

The management conditions in which the specimens are kept, the amount of animals and the system of rotation of the specimens will be described in the bioterium. Moreover,

Natural products: an alternative for human health • Ethnomedical uses in medicine • Pharmacology and toxicology • Chemical-analytical studies and technological development • Clinical studies • Dietary supplements • Homeopathy

MAIN SUBJECT MATTERS Animal health: therapeutic and prophylaxis • Development of veterinary products • Biosecurity in biopharmaceutical productions • Experience in the use of pharmaceutical products in veterinary medicine • Homeopathy

Experience in the control of epidemics with the use of biological methods • Diseases transmitted by vectors • Operational use of biopesticides in the control of vectors • Integral control of vectors • Ecosystemic focus on the prevention of diseases • Integrated strategy of projects between countries

the participants will witness the process of extracting the venom.

For the first and only time, LABIOFAM will open its doors to show a procedure that, undoubtedly, forms part of the future development of a scientific institution geared at offering health and quality of life.

The LABIOFAM International Congress, organized every two years by the Cuban scientific institution, will be a space to fete the 50 years of this Business Group that works in the re-dimensioning and diversification of its productions, as the only guarantee to achieve a sustained development. ■

• Genetic engineering for the improvement of biopesticide formulations • Isolation and characterization of autochthonous strains used in the control of vectors • Development of new products Symposium: Integral programs of prevention and control of disease transmitting vectors • Health education, community participation and its impact on the environment • Antivectorial struggle in primary health care • Entomological vigilance systems and geographic information Prebiotics and probiotics • Food development • Application in animal and human health

Biopesticides and biofertilizers for agriculture • Taxonomy, characterization, biodiversity and ecology of the beneficial organisms for agricultural use in Cuba • Action mechanisms of the bioproducts and their relationship with the different forms of agricultural production.

• Technology for the production of agricultural bioproducts, application, management, quality control and registration • Biocontrol and/or biofertilization, evaluation and effectiveness • Training of professionals of the agricultural sector in the face of the challenges posed by the use of agricultural bioproducts

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

Villa Clara’s Keys, the Venue

Photo courtesy of Meliá Hotels International Cuba.

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t was a wise decision to dedicate the International Tourism Fair FITCuba 2012 to Villa Clara’s keys, made up by the triad of Cayo Santa María, Cayo Las Brujas and Cayo Ensenachos.

Thanks to the exuberant nature of those places, their virginal beaches and great diversity, this young tourist destination is currently in full expansion.

Winding the sea, very close to one of the world’s largest coral barriers, these islets belong to the Jardines del Rey archipelago (also called Sabana-Camagüey), one of the four insular groups that make up the Cuban archipelago - the others are Los Colorados, Jardines de la Reina and Los Canarreos.

Located to the north of Villa Clara, they can also be reached through Santa Clara’s Abel Santamaría International Airport and the local Cayo Las Brujas airport, fitted out for light and medium-sized aircraft; it has one terminal and the runway is 1,800 x 45 meters long.

By sea, the point of entry is through Cayo Santa María Gaviota Marina, which is exactly in Cayo Las Brujas and has an associated Scuba Diving Center.

The principal tourist nucleus of the destination is Cayo Santa María, the largest of the three islets and one of the eleven nucleus areas – the most significant protected sites – of the Buenavista Biosphere Reserve, declared by UNESCO in 2000. Christened “La rosa blanca de los Jardines del Rey” (literally the white rose of the King’s Garden), it stretches along a land area of 13 km 2 , with 11 km of white sandy beaches with turquoise blue, tranquil and transparent waters.

Meanwhile, Cayo Las Brujas, the first of these keys that crosses the highway, is 4 km long and 2 km wide; it has an impressive seabed that makes this destination a perfect place for nautical sports.

Cayo Ensenachos, a former indigenous settlement, is the smallest – around 2 km 2 .

It has the shape of a horseshoe and has two

Villa Las Brujas***, a Gaviota brand installation, is the only hotel on Cayo Las Brujas.

main beaches, Ensenachos and El Mégano, the best in the area, according to many persons.

A modern tourist and hotel infrastructure has been developed in full coherence with that exotic natural scenario.

HOTEL PLANT IN VILLA CLARA’S KEYS Ten hotels of the Gaviota S.A. Tourism Group’s portfolio make up the hotel plant of the Villa Clara keys destination, which as a whole have more than 5,600 rooms, of which 99.5% are four and five star. All the hotels operate under the all-inclusive modality, except for Villa Las Brujas.

The foreign chains present in the destination and that manage the 10 hotels are Meliá Hotels International, Barceló Hotels & Resorts, Iberostar Hotels & Resorts and Blue Diamond Hotels & Resorts.

Cayo Santa María concentrates the majority of the accommodations, eight hotels that feature 91% of the total amount of rooms in Villa Clara’s keys, while Cayo Las Brujas and Cayo Ensenachos have one each.

Four Meliá hotels are in Cayo Santa María. Meliá Buenavista***** is a resort with 105 junior suites and suites plus a Villa; conceived for adults aged 18 and over, it is recommended for couples, weddings and honeymoons. It is joined by Meliá Cayo Santa María*****, with 358 rooms; Meliá Las Dunas*****, with 925 rooms; and Sol Cayo Santa María****, perfectly integrated into the natural environment, with 301 rooms.

In Cayo Santa María, the Gaviota Group operates under its own brand a beautiful hotel of refined design, modern, elegant and functional, the Gaviota Cayo Santa María*****, with 721 rooms; and Barceló the Cayo Santa María Beach Colonial Resort*****, with 1,308 rooms, divided in two sections (hotels) - Barceló Cayo Santa María Beach and Barceló Cayo Santa María Colonial.

The Memories brand of the Canadian Blue Diamond chain recently entered the market with the Memories Azul Beach Resort*****, with 720 rooms and recreating the city of Santiago de Cuba; and the Memories Paraíso Beach Resort*****, comprising 666 rooms and inspired on the colonial city of Remedios.

Located in Punta Periquillo, over piles on the high rocks of a cliff, Villa Las Brujas***, a Gaviota brand, is the only hotel in Cayo Las Brujas. It has 24 junior suites in three two-story blocks and independent rooms.

The only accommodation on Cayo Ensenachos, the Iberostar Ensenachos***** is a deluxe resort with 506 rooms grouped in colonial-style bungalows – 270 doubles, 190 deluxe and 46 deluxe villas -, in addition to a wellness center & spa. ■

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

Ecuador Opens its Doors to Investment in Tourism From page 2

We believe that it is an opportune moment to boost tourism, to urge in all forums and events that people visit our land, but we also think it is necessary to make revolutionary changes in tourism.

What do I mean by this? That if we are able to generate multidestination routes to visit the different countries of the Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), we would be really fostering that tourists have a full idea of the profound modifications that have taken place. This is well worth being taken into account.

Could you refer to the principal tourist attributes of Ecuador?

Responsible tourism is a transforming life experience that generates personal growth, turning us into better human beings. This new concept is based on the principles of sustainability and ethics and promotes the values of peace, friendship, respect and love of life as the essence of practicing tourism. It is a pact of coexistence, responsibility, mutual respect and communion between the tourist agents of the issuing and receiving communities, the tourist and the natural and cultural heritage.

Responsible tourism is a live and dynamic concept in constant construction. It is an experience of giving and receiving.

About this I must add that this tourism is a permanent exchange of experiences, for example tourists visiting Ecuador can give their experiences of what in their countries is understood as preferential treatment to tourists.

Air Europa Novelties

How to have more friends, how to achieve a greater friendship between the peoples of the world? By offering another type of tourism, not the one dedicated only to exploiting tourists but rather the contrary, which makes them feel during those days that they one more Ecuadoran. We have to say that our attributes are accompanied by human warmth, that visitors have to get to know the Ecuadorans, and in this way they immediately find out that they are jovial, hardworking persons, the expression of plurinationalism, of wills of different sectors that come together in a melting pot that is what we are forming now, that of “Ecuadorianess”.

We put special emphasis in that they are going to find surprises in Ecuador, just like the ones I’ve found here in Cuba, when I have seen tourists that when the time comes for their return they leave with absolute sadness, they don’t want to leave the island; that is what we have to achieve. Why don’t they want to leave? The answer lies in the treatment they receive, the human warmth, the safety; that is the best way to visualize how a society is structured.

We also have to sell what Cuba sells in tourism. I believe that will be the way in which we will have to give a boost to the tourism campaigns. That when we say that Ecuador loves life it means that Ecuador loves its biodiversity, its flora, its fauna, its people, its gastronomy, its art, its painting, its music, that in short it loves with intensity all that that is the transforming force behind the processes of change.

Air Europa’s Havana Office announces that the airline, starting this summer, will incorporate a new destination to its portfolio, Geneva.

Regarding the itinerary between Spain and Cuba, Air Europa will maintain the following daily schedules during the summer of 2012: • Departure from Havana at 21 hours, arrival in Madrid at 12.20 local time

It is expected that in 2012 two million tourists will visit Ecuador; Cuba is working to surpass this year the three million tourists.

Which are the principal tourist destinations?

The charms Ecuador offers national and foreign tourists are the fauna, flora, culture, gastronomy and other attractions of the beaches of the Ecuadoran coast, the mountains of the Sierra, the jungle in the east and the islands of the Galapagos Archipelago.

Allow me to make an imaginary trip for you: You arrive in Quito, a city that is 2,800 meters above sea level, in the middle of mountains, and you can’t explain how a plane lands there, but it lands. Then you meet cheerful, simple people ready to show you that Ecuador is alive with each one of the tourists; you see its streets, architecture, the surrounding sites… sometimes I believe the Garden of Eden is around there, in my country.

Then you visit Cuenca, a city of unrivaled architecture, a city of rivers, bridges of unimaginable beauty, its incomparable women, a cultured city, progressive, the pride of Ecuadorans. You go to the coast and find the most exotic beaches in the world and enjoy one of the best gastronomies of the continent.

And the Amazonia, where you begin to understand the enigmatic of its nature, it is the most beau-

• Departure from Madrid at 15 hours, arrival in Havana at 18:50 local time Another novelty is the offer of combined Air Europa & renfe plane-train tickets that facilitate traveling from the train station to the airport, from Madrid-Barajas and vice versa. Connections with: Albacete, Alicante, Córdoba, Lérida, Málaga, Murcia, Pam-

tiful thing a nation can offer; human beings coexist there with the most diverse animal species and one can see the greatest respect for the environment, today more than ever before. And if in the end you decide to take a trip to the Galapagos Islands, then you find yourself in heaven.

It would be interesting to know some of Ecuador’s projections for the development of the tourist industry.

By virtue of the agreement between the Ministry of Tourism and the Finance Corporation, credits will be given of up to $25 million for new tourist projects, among which are accommodations, tourist transportation (air, maritime, river, land and the rental of vehicles), food and beverages service, as well as tour operators, race tracks and parks with stable attractions.

I want to say that, even though it is an insufficient capital, it is the seed that makes it possible to awaken interest in investments in the tourism area. We say that tourism is open to investments; we tell them, invest in Ecuador and you will surely be more than compensated because, in addition to making a real contribution to a sustainable tourism that defends nature and its natural resources, it also allows you to share the vision of a different world.

Is Ecuador participating in FITCuba 2012?

The participation of the Ministry of Tourism of Ecuador has already been announced. This embassy is in charge of the coordination to guarantee an important presence of our country so we can be more and better known through this fair; providing information about what we are offering, shaking the hand of potential tourists and saying to them: Welcome to Ecuador! ■

plona, Seville, Tarragona, Valencia, Valladolid and Zaragoza.

Air Europa recently was granted the License to Use the Excellent Madrid Warranty Brand, given by the Madrid Foundation for Excellence, given its business management once the compliance with criteria of the required quality and excellence is accredited.

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

Hotels in Old Havana Celebrate 10th and 15th Anniversaries

S

ix hotels in Old Havana, operated by the Habaguanex S.A. Tourism Company, are celebrating in 2012 their 10th and 15th anniversaries. Santa Isabel and Ambos Mundos are arriving at their 15th anniversary, while Armadores de Santander, Park View, Beltrán de Santa Cruz and Mesón de la Flota their 10th.

SANTA ISABEL***** Turned into a hotel in 1867, the former mansion of the Counts of Santovenia continues being one of the favorites for those who admire the city’s history. Located facing the Plaza de Armas, after its reopening on March 1, 1997 – with 27 rooms – it maintains its former distinction and comfort and exhibits original architectural elements in the style of the 19th century.

AMBOS MUNDOS**** Centrally located, near the Plaza de Armas, it was inaugurated as a hotel in the 1920s. It perpetuates the memory of famous writer Ernest Hemingway and conserves, as a museum, the room where he stayed and wrote some of his works. After its reopening on February 28, 1997, with 52 rooms, it maintains the architecture of the 1920s.

ARMADORES DE SANTANDER**** At the maritime doors of the city, on Avenida del Puerto, it takes up three buildings

Golf Tournaments at Meliá Las Américas

Santa Isabel Hotel, among the favorites because of its distinction and comfort. Photo: TTC.

from different periods and styles, rehabilitated and adapted as accommodations. Opened on March 18, 2002, with 32 rooms, it breathes a marine environment in all its spaces.

PARK VIEW*** Inaugurated as a hotel in 1928 – built with U.S. capital -, it is one of Havana’s most exclusive. It reopened its doors with a renovated image on February 23, 2002. With 55 rooms, it is simple and economic and stands out for being centrally located close to Paseo del Prado.

BELTRÁN DE SANTA CRUZ*** Distinguished personalities who visited Havana were feted in the house that today is occupied by this hotel, just a few steps from the Plaza Vieja. Opened on December 23, 2002, with 11 rooms, its attractive design invokes the fusion of modern and old elements.

MESÓN DE LA FLOTA*** Located on Mercaderes Street, this hotel with a maritime environment and five rooms, it brings to mind the taverns of the 18th and 19th centuries where sailors used to get together, an image that it rescued since its opening on November 9, 2002. ■

VARADERO’S Meliá Las Américas Hotel is organizing this year several tournaments as part of its actions to consolidate itself as a specialist of the golf segment in Cuba.

The events include the Solways (June 8-10), Havanatur (June 2123) and Caribbean Golf Cup (October 1-4) tournaments, and the fourth edition of the Meliá Cuba Golf Cup (October 25-27), organized every year by this hotel.

Recommended by the International Association of Golf Tour Op-

Three Meliá Cuba Hotels Head TripAdvisors Ranking PARDISUS Río de Oro, Meliá Buenavista and Paradisus Varadero head in that order the first three positions in the ranking of Cuba’s hotels in TripAdvisors, the world’s major travel forum, which receives 50 million unique visitors a month.

It is the first time that three Meliá Cuba hotels achieve such an outstanding result on TripAdvisors, with more than 65 million opinions and commentaries from travelers about hotels, destinations and other tourist attractions.

These three five-star resorts stand out for their Royal Service, a Premium product that represents the topmost luxury of the Meliá Cuba hotels.

Paradisus Río de Oro is in Playa Esmeralda, Holguín; Meliá Buenavista is in Cayo Santa María; and Paradisus Varadero owes its name to the internationally renowned Cuban beach where it is located.

Another two Meliá Cuba establishments are also included on TripAdvisors’ list of Top Ten most popular hotels of the largest of the Caribbean islands. They are the Meliá Cayo Coco and Paradisus Princesa del Mar, ranked in 8th and 9th place, respectively. ■

erators (IAGTO) for its programs and special attentions for golfers, Meliá Las Américas – a five-star all

inclusive conceived only for adults older than 18 – offers players exclusive services and facilities.

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

Hotel Plant Managed by Hoteles C Improves L

ike every year, Hoteles C is participating in FITCuba, this time in its new venue of Cayo Santa María. In the numerous meetings it will have with the principal national and foreign tour operators, Hoteles C will report on the improvements and reforms carried out in the hotel establishments managed by the chain, with the aim of increasing the level of satisfaction of its guests, which is precisely one of its principal missions. In addition, Hoteles C will sign new agreements and strengthen the existing ones with a view to increasing the flow of tourists to Cuba.

The reforms carried out include the conclusion of the renovation of 100% of the rooms of the Arenas Doradas Hotel, providing it with a level of comfort that will exceed the expectations of the most demanding guest. Moreover, a new Café Bar was opened – located in the Commercial Gallery that gives access to the Buffet Restaurant -, where guests can enjoy an exquisite variety of coffees and cocktails in a relaxed atmosphere.

The finishing touches are being given to the capital repair of the Beach Ranchón thatched roof restaurant, whose menu will include succulent paellas and fideuas, as well as an extensive offer of grilled meats and fish. All the sun loungers of the swimming pool were renovated and a new customer service department was incorporated, a space for guests to make reservations in the thematic restaurants or communicate any incident, which will be rapidly seen to, always seeking visitors’ maximum satisfaction and service.

In the Presidente Hotel the wall-to-wall carpets on all the floors and the textiles were

Arenas Doradas Hotel.

Casa Granda and Bucanero Hotels Start Operating with Cubanacán The Cubanacán hotel chain, one of the largest international tourism reception companies in Cuba, has added to its 71-hotel portfolio, starting May 1, another two establishments: Casa Granda and Bucanero, both in the city of Santiago de Cuba.

From the Casa Granda, located in the heart of Santiago, visitors can share the intense historic-cultural life of the city and enjoy emblematic sites like the Cathedral, the Casa de la Trova and the Colonial and Emilio Bacardí museums.

renovated, maintaining the charm of the 1920s, as well as 100% of the sun loungers and sunshades in the swimming pool area, giving it greater comfort. For those wishing to taste a selection of the best Havana cigars, the Rincón del Habano was created in the Chez Merito Restaurant.

Every two weeks the hotel offers the Tapana, an option that allows guests to delight themselves with a variety of Spanish tapas carefully prepared by the chef, to the point that the most demanding palates are satisfied. Those visiting the Presidente will be able to enjoy delicious international cuisine dishes proposed in the new menu of Chez Merito, as well as using the new services incorporated into the swimming pool bar, an area where important improvements have been made.

The Barlovento is presenting various novelties. A new shade area was created, with new sun loungers, in the swimming pool; the furniture in the lobby and the restaurants was renovated; new menus were incorporated adapted to the tastes of the mixed international guests; and a gym is being finished so that guests can exercise and keep in shape.

In the Tropicoco Hotel the furniture of the restaurants and common areas has been renovated, as well as the textiles of the majority of its rooms. New services have been introduced, like nighttime snacks in the cafeteria, an ideal spot for a bite or a good Cuban cocktail after a night partying in Havana. This hotel is achieving an evaluation that is above its category, according to the principal Internet opinion websites. ■ This nonagenarian hotel has a privileged lookout point, the Roof Garden, which offers unique views of the beautiful panorama of the Bay of Santiago and the entire city. It has 58 rooms and two restaurants - a buffet and one a la carte featuring Cuban and international cuisine.

Operating in the all-inclusive modality, the Bucanero is located in Baconao Park, just half an hour away from Santiago de Cuba. An exceptional view of the Caribbean Sea and the mountains of eastern Cuba can be seen from any of its 200 rooms; its beach has a rocky formation, ideal for scuba diving and other nautical activities.

Its facilities include three restaurants – a buffet, a grill and another one specializing in seafood -, snack bar, games room, scuba diving lessons, animation and two swimming pools for children and adults. ■ www.cubanacan.cu www.hotelescubanacan.com

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

Gaviota Presents the Playa Coco LOCATED on Cayo Coco, in Jardines del Rey, to the north of Ciego de Avila province, the Playa Coco**** vacation resort, a new Gaviota brand that operates in the all-inclusive modality, it is ideal to enjoy with the family or with friends.

The Playa Coco Hotel has 307 air-conditioned rooms – 306 standard and a Master Suite, three for the handicapped -, with bathroom, hairdryer, telephone, CD/radio player, satellite TV, mini bar, coffee maker, iron, ironing board and safety deposit box.

Four restaurants, Trinidad, Tokyo Japanese, Venice Italian and Santiago Seafood, offer Cuban and international, Asian, Italian and seafood meals, respectively; and five bars, among them a 24-hour snack bar and another by the beachside, offer an array of varied cocktails, liqueurs and internationally renowned beverages.

In addition to being located on an excellent beach, with very fine sand, shallow waters and high values in the seabed, it has two swimming pools, two Jacuzzis, a fitness center, Mini Club and Baby Club, Internet room and the rental of cars, motorbikes and bicycles.

For entertainment, you can opt for diverse activities: day and night animation in several hotel areas for children and adults; sports – tennis, table tennis, giant chess -, nautical activities – kayaks, sailboats, water bikes, windsurfing, snorkeling -, seafood suppers facing the sea, romantic nights of piano bar or to the rhythm of the Disco Coco. Moreover, the Playa Coco has designed interesting packages for wedding and honeymoons. ■

Transtur Renews and Strengthens Services IN EARLY 2012 Transtur incorporated into its fleet more than 190 new Chinese-made buses to offer tourist transportation services throughout the island, among them several two-floor roofless buses to strengthen its tourist service in the archipelago’s principal destinations.

This economic and safe Hop on-Hop off option, greatly accepted among visitors from all over the world, places our culture, history and the incredible beauty of the landscape at the reach of travelers. The Varadero Tourist Bus has acquired special relevance. A pioneer in this modality, it is celebrating its 10 years of service with great enthusiasm together with its clients by offering a service of excellence.

In addition to Varadero, these tourist buses are at your disposal in Havana, Viñales, Matanzas, Guamá, Trinidad, Jardines del Rey, Guardalavaca and Holguín, giving visitors the possibility of enjoying the attractions of the largest of the Antilles.

Also previewed is the entrance of more than 700 vehicles for car rentals, all of them automatic, different models of the Kia trademark that will renovate the fleet of Cubatur and Havanautos and will contribute new and better services, always seeking the fundamental premise of Transtur: the satisfaction of its clients. ■

Guantánamo’s Martí Hotel Reopens its Doors LOCATED in the heart of the city of Guantánamo, the emblematic Martí Hotel reopened its doors after a capital remodeling from which it emerges as an elegant and modern installation ready to provide its guests quality services.

This opening strengthens the image of the Islazul Hotel Group in the easternmost Cuban province.

With its art deco architecture, the Martí has 21 modern and comfortable air-conditioned rooms that have balconies with a panoramic view, private bathroom, telephone and satellite TV; in addition to a cybercafé, central safety deposit box, a restaurant serving international and Cuban food – the specials on its menu include the “ajiaco baracoano” (Baracoastyle Meat, Stew), the “fritura de malanga” (taro fritters) and other autochthonous dishes from the region -, a bar restaurant and the terrace bar.

The fact that it is centrally located makes it easy for visitors to have direct contact with the genuine people of Guantánamo, the architectural diversity of the environment and the new and attractive local gastronomic and recreation offers.

Some of the tourist attractions close to the hotel are Martí Park, formerly the Plaza de Armas, where the Santa Catalina de Ricci Cathedral - for many the world’s smallest – stands: the Changüí and Trova (musical genres) houses, the 1870 Restaurant, the venue of the Tumba Francesa, a dance society declared an Intangible World Heritage; plus the options of the routes and walks to attractive sites like the Stone Zoo, between coffee plantations, the only one of its type in the world, created by farmers turned sculptors. ■

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

Cuban Tourist Industry Grows in Numbers in 2012 T

ourism in Cuba is continuing its solid growth in 2012, in terms of arrivals as well as tourist infrastructure, according to a press conference given in Havana

by First Deputy Minister of Tourism Alexis Trujillo, who predicted that “this should be a good year for tourism.”

The number of foreign tourists has been increasing during recent years at a rate of 10.5% as an annual average since 1990. Cuba closed 2011 with a record 2,716,317 visitors, 7.3% more than in 2010. The increase in the number of Russian and Argentine visitors stands out, with 40% and 30%, respectively, as well as the end of the decrease that European states like the United Kingdom, Germany and France had exhibited in the last three-year period.

The close of the first quarter of 2012 registered a growth of about 4% as compared to the same period the year before. After a decrease in January, in February 309,508 visitors were received, 5.6% more than in 2011.

In the figures for the January-February total (the last available figures of the National Office of Statistics, by markets, at the close of this edition), Canada was still in first place, followed by Argentina – which has suddenly replaced the principal traditional European markets -, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia and Spain, in that order.

Tourist activity projections include the building of 25,000 new rooms by 2020, with the participation of Cuban and joint capital.

DURING 2011, Cuban accommodation establishments registered 17,476,829 foreign tourist days, 9.4% more than in 2010.

Just as it has historically done, Matanzas welcomed the largest volume of overnight stays, 43% of Cuba’s total, since the famous Varadero beach resort is located in this province. Havana continues in second place, with 16% of the foreign tourist days, followed by Holguín, Villa Clara and Ciego de Avila.

The biggest growths in the number of overnight stays, as compared to 2010, were obtained in the provinces of Villa Clara (35%) and Guantánamo (24%). Compared to previous years, the five eastern provinces showed positive indicators in overnight stays in 2011, as

Alexis Trujillo, first deputy minister of tourism.

In terms of foreign investments in the sector, the deputy minister said that out of the 58,000 rooms in the country, 6,000 belong to some 30 joint ventures, while it is expected others will start functioning.

“Cuba has a potential to diversify tourism, backed by its history, heritage and nature. We designed a strong marketing and promotion program that has had a positive impact until now.” The idea is for Cuba, according to Trujillo, not only be seen as a sun and beach destination, for which important investments are being made and strategies have been drawn up to guarantee a progressive and diversified development.

He mentioned the boost being given to nautical activities and scuba diving. The hotel growth has a marked interest in places where circuits and tours – which have been in high demand in recent years - can be increased, especially in areas of the center of the country like Trinidad and Camagüey.

To achieve a greater non-hotel development, there are plans to build 13 new golf courses, which are currently in different stages of negotiation, and the setting up of several theme parks.

With the precedent that the increased flow of travelers did not correspond with incomes, Trujillo said that “in 2011 Cuba already had a more favorable situation, incomes grew 11.9% and up to date in 2012 they have increased 12%. It’s something we see as positive,” the deputy minister of tourism affirmed. ■

Favorite Cuban Destinations in 2011

compared to the previous year, which presupposes an effective influence of the policy of promotion and marketing of that region.

Source: National office of Statistic of Cuba

PRI ART HAV MAY MTZ VCL CFG SSP CAV CAM LTU HOL GRA SCU GTM IJV 1 000 000

2 000 000

3 000 000

4 000 000

5 000 000

6 000 000

7 000 000

8 000 000

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

Varadero and Cayo Coco Among World’s 25 Best Beaches

Varadero.

Cuba’s Varadero and Cayo Coco beach resorts were chosen by Internet navigators in a specialized poll and classified on the list of the world’s 25 best beaches, according to www.tripadvisor.com. Both beaches won the Traveler’s Choice 2012 Beach Destination Prize, which is promoted by the aforementioned website.

Varadero, in the western province of Matanzas, came in 10th place on a world level

and fifth in the Caribbean. Cayo Coco, which ranked 20th in the world, is located in the Jardines del Rey archipelago, whose more than 30 kilometers of beaches of coralline origin, distributed between Cayo Coco, Cayo Guillermo and Cayo Paredón Grande, are attractive above all for their peaceful environment and natural beauty, both in terms of flora and bird fauna. ■

TTC On Line AS a novelty, TTC is announcing that its printed editions are also available on line in Italian, Spanish and English, so our readers can have the possibility of reading them in their preferred language.

From the webpage and from the weekly e-bulletin, they will have free access to all the information and publicity ads directly from the computer, just click on the access instruction and you will be able to navigate in our pages.

This is a new service that easily gets readers closer to the printed versions that TTC distributes to professionals from the sector at the most important tourism fairs in the world. In this way we are increasing our potential readers to close to 50,000 contacts every week throughout the world.

Cordial greetings, TTC Editorial Staff

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

P

ress Tours is celebrating this year 30 years of activity, a notable achievement marked by a growing leadership in Cuba that led it to become one of the biggest and most reliable operators on the reference target, with an offer that has not only been sun and beach but which has always centered on the island’s other products.

“For 2012 we have drawn up (as we have done for many years),” general director Fabio Landini explains, “an important theme catalogue dedicated to Cuba: some 100 pages of information, proposals, tours, hotels; in short, a compendium to show Cuba to the market that increasingly chooses our product.”

Our strength lies in the eight Explora *Café*, a concept that “goes beyond the villaggio (tourist villa),” structures that, in addition to the guarantees given by the operator in terms of constant attention by the specialized staff, offers characteristics that differentiate it from the usual Italian villaggio of animation: the location in the center of interest, an extreme characterization. Placing it in each destination always choosing the typical structures of the place, the program of events, a group of mini excursions, meetings organized by the personnel that takes the guests outside the villaggio to discover the place’s “live culture.”

Explora *Café* was created to take the client “beyond the villaggio” and, in that sense, has become an attractive program for individual clients.

It must be recalled that the Explora *Café* are located in the different destinations to offer the dissimilar target clients the opportunity to enjoy all the “pleasures of the trip.”

EXPLORA *Café* Cayo Levisa EcoResort for nature lovers,

Interior and terrace of the Palacio San Miguel.

Press Tours Celebrates 30 Years of Activity in Cuba Cayo Levisa.

hand in hand with the environment and the marine world; the two EXPLORA *Café* in Havana, the Palacio O’Farril and Palacio San Miguel, with the historic characteristics and located in the very heart of the capital; the EXPLORA *Café* Los Delfines and Turquesa Bungalow in Varadero, to meet the needs of families, children, couples and groups of friends; the EXPLORA *Café* Sol Club Pelícano for scuba diving aficionados who want a complete and well managed all inclusive; the EXPLORA *Resort* Playa Pesquero, with views of the impressive Guardalavaca beach, in eastern Cuba, a resort of exceptional beauty and very high quality, suitable for all clients; and, finally, the EXPLORA *Paradise* Jardines de la Reina, an exclusive Press Tours proposal for “really” scuba diving fans.

“The year 2012 won’t be different from the previous one,” Fabio Landini continued, “since we are going to also develop co-marketing operations with MINTUR in Italy, sealing a strong, rich and attractive relation and collaboration, with events throughout the year. Regarding the part dedicated to marketing, we are going to organize seminars for agencies and theme trips. For the consumer sector we will continue with the promotions of and combinations in the Cuba destination, like the Underwater Salon to show the different realities and possibilities of tourism to a heterogeneous public and with specific traveling wishes. Let’s remember that Press Tours manages, promotes and markets, exclusively for the Italian market, the three leading and renowned scuba

diving centers of Cuba: Jardines de la Reina, Cayo Largo and Cayo Levisa.»

But the promotion doesn’t stop there; the On Air EXPLORA Café! radio program hosted by Moreno Rognoni, director of Promotion, Events and Relations with the Media, on diverse national radios stations and which frequently centers on Cuba, offers listeners interesting ideas about trips (sea, nature, culture and history, folklore and art, music, nautical and land sports, etc.)

“Press Tours has received from Cuba great economic satisfaction,” Landini says. “In 2011 there was a registered turnover of around 30 million euros, 10% more than in 2010, and close to 25,000 passengers. The first three months of 2012 registered a +4% increase as compared to the same period in 2011.

“The next edition of FITCuba, the first to take place in Cayo Santa María,” Landini concludes, “as always foresees the presence of my entire family, with enthusiasm, to give continuity to a tradition we don’t want to break: attending the promotional tourist manifestation in Cuba, a destination we have loved so much for many years.

As always, they will be days of useful and important meetings, with the suppliers as well as with our Cuban colleagues who marvelously organize the attendance in the place and, of course, with the authorities with which we have always been united by the wish to promote and sell a quality tourism based on deep human values and the landscape that only Cuba can offer to a tourist seeking ‘the charm of the Caribbean,’ with a reality of living in full safety.” ■

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

BARCELÓ CAYO SANTA MARÍA BEACH COLONIAL RESORT

Splendid for Weddings, Honeymoons and Renewing Marriage Vows

T

he Barceló Cayo Santa María Beach Colonial Resort, a romantic place for romantic occasions, has prepared several wedding, honeymoon and renewal of marriage vows packages.

The Resort is located on Cayo Santa María, to the north of Villa Clara province, by the seashore and in perfect harmony with an environment where vegetation and a varied fauna predominate.

Its wedding programs include the Wedding Planning Services,

Wedding Ceremony officiated by a Notary, Legalized Cuban Marriage Certificate, special decoration and music for the ceremony, champagne for the toast, delicacies in the rooms and during the couple’s stay in the hotel.

For newlyweds who dream about an eternal honeymoon, everything is ready in this hotel complex to offer them unforgettable moments full of the most intimate details. Not to mention the daring couples who decide to renew their marriage vows…

Cuba-Trinidad and Tobago Trade Relations Going Well THE TOURISM and Industrial Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago (TIDCO) is a government entity belonging to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, represented in Cuba since 2007 to promote trade between Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba, a goal it has met through the following activities: • Information presentations for businesspeople and government entities of both countries • Commercial guidance and consultancy • Business rounds to identify the corresponding counterparts • Organization of programs for Trinidadian delegations and individual businesspeople

from a private check in for the bride and groom to a romantic supper for newlyweds.

Divided into two sections (hotels), Barceló Cayo Santa María Beach – with 612 junior suites and 12 suites – and Barceló Cayo Santa María Colonial – with 672 junior suites and 12 suites -, the Resort as a whole has 1,308 air-conditioned rooms, completely equipped and dis-

tributed in 21 bungalows, with three stories each. Interconnected rooms are available for the handicapped and non-smokers.

The Barceló Cayo Santa María Beach Colonial Resort has a peculiarity that consists in that the guests staying in the complex will be able to equally enjoy the facilities and restaurants of both sections (both hotels). ■

Contact: Wedding Planning Team E-mail: jefe.ventas@cayosantamaria.co.cu

• Exhibition of Trinidadian export products in Cuba • Participation in trade fairs and related events in Cuba Trinidad and Tobago has systematically participated in the Havana International Trade Fair (FIHAV); TIDCO has attended EXPOCARIBE in Santiago de Cuba; and, for the first time in 2012, there was an official representation of the Trinidad and Tobago business community of the construction sector in the International Construction Fair (FECONS). In 2011 a Business Forum was held in the framework of the Caribbean Festival in Santiago de Cuba, dedicated on that occasion to Trinidad and Tobago.

A notable amount of Trinidadian businesspeople come to Cuba every year to promote their products and services, with the aim of identifying interests and possible businesses and thus developing professional trade and collaboration relations with Cuban entities.

Several companies are currently holding negotiations with Cuba: • Sacha, a cosmetics company dedicated to products especially made for exotic skins like the ones existing in the Caribbean • Hyline Label Limited, a producer of labels that works with pharmaceutical and beverage companies • John Dickinson Limited, a manufacturer of paper products, currently supplies bond paper to Cuban companies • Fluid Technologies Worldwide, in the oil sector, which has been providing its services to the Cuban market for 10 years • Republic Bank in Cuba, in the financial sector, which offers banking and financial services – letters of credit and others – to businesspeople of different nationalities • Cubatrin, a Trinidadian company that is in the business of marketing Cuban pharmaceutical products in Trinidad and Tobago

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

TAAG Presents…its Summer Schedule WELCOME onboard TAAG, the Angolan airline that has been operating in Cuba since May 18, 1976.

TAAG, the only direct connection between Africa and Cuba, announces the Summer Schedule of its Havana-Luanda route, with a fortnightly frequency.

The f leet used by these some 13-hourlong regular f lights is made up by Boeing 777-200 ERs with 255 capacities, 14 in the business class and 241 in the economic class.

INFORMATION FOR PASSENGERS Passengers must reconfirm their reservations with a minimum of 72 hours before the f light’s departure in any of TAAG’s sales offices, personally or by phone, in Luanda as well as in Havana.

The Central American tourist destinations of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama are expanding as cruise operators.

Those countries “as a whole have achieved positions as a destination, as one of the most attractive in the cruise market,” according to a report published in the region. The Ministry of Tourism of Belize indicated, for 2012 a big increase is expected, mainly because 2012 is the year of the Maya World and Belize is part of it.

In terms of Costa Rica, official data from the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism indicate that the season from October to May 2011 has been the best in years. More-

DEPARTURES From Luanda: Tuesday at 11:00, local time

From Havana: Thursday at 01:05, local time

FLIGHT DAYS, FROM MAY TO OCTOBER

ARRIVALS To Havana: the same Tuesday at 19:45, local time

To Luanda: the same Thursday at 19:50, local time

RESERVATIONS AND PROCEDURES from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday to Friday, in the Havana, Cuba, office.

23 Nº 64 e/ P y Malecón, Vedado.

Tel.: (+537) 833 3527 / 833 3528 Fax: (+537) 833 3049 Email: taaghav@enet.cu / www.taag.com

Luanda-Havana DT702 LAD/HAV May

15 and 29

May

17 and 31

June

12 and 26

June

14 and 28

July

10 and 24

July

12 and 26

August

07 and 21

August

09 and 23

September

04 and 18

September

06 and 20

October

02 and 16

October

04 and 18

OFFICE AT HAVANA’S JOSÉ MARTÍ INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Tel.: (+537) 649 8817 Email: escala@enet.cu

Cruise Destinations Increase in Central America

German “Ms Deutschland” cruise ship.

over, numerous cruise companies have docked for the first time.

El Salvador received in the port of Acajutla, for the first time, the

Havana-Luanda DT703 HAV/LAD

cruise ship Ms Deutschland, on which 250 German, Austrian and Swiss tourists were traveling. A Ministry of Tourism delegation,

headed by Minister José Napoleón Duarte, received the passengers.

In the words of the minister, “El Salvador is still positioning itself on the radar to be one of the tourist destinations where ships dock to get to know our attractions.

The Guatemalan Institute of Tourism, which was present in the most important cruise fair, the Cruise Shipping of Miami, announced it expects to increase by 20% the arrival of cruise ships to the country during the 2012-2013 season, which ranges from October of this year to April of next year, which would mean the arrival of 58 cruise ships, 10 more than during the current season, which in turn will increase 6% the hard currency currently collected. ■

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

Villa Cojímar, Now Totally Renovated

S

ince you make your entrance to Villa Cojímar*** and come across an exquisitely redecorated and transformed lobby, you perceive to a great extent the airs of renovation lying in wait throughout the Villa, after a process of general restoration and remodeling that, on a par with increasing its room plant, perfected the infrastructure of the hotel and gave it a rejuvenated image.

All the rooms by the seashore were renovated, in addition to the construction of 54 new standard rooms and eight junior suites, all of them in Brazilian-style double wooden cabanas. Villa Cojímar also offers now a new Mini Club with independent swimming pool.

After the general renovation, the restaurant area benefited with the expansion of the capacity of the Ranchón Playa thatched-roof eating place, at present with a new design in wood to assimilate more than 100 guests; the renovation of the Pasta and Pizza Italian restaurant; and the total reconstruction of the snack bar.

Villa Cojímar, a Gran Caribe Hotel Group brand hotel, operates under the all-inclusive modality, and is ideal for family tourism because of its completely safe and beautiful environment.

Its hotel plant, conceived in complete harmony with the natural environment, is made up by 280 rooms. All of them have A/C, telephone, satellite TV, safety deposit box, hairdryer, mini fridge, private bathroom, balcony, terrace or a view to the sea.

It has three restaurants, a Ranchón Playa and four bars; it provides diverse types of services, including legal service for weddings and Internet, and has several facilities at the disposal of its guests to practice sports and entertainment.

On the stretch between Pilar and Los Perros beaches a group of natural characteristics converge – direction and force of the winds,

shallow waters, behavior of the tides, currents and wave height –, making it a privileged area for the practice and learning of kite surfing, a modality of the so-called extreme sports that attracts many followers.

Next winter, the Kite Center will open its doors in Villa Cojímar. It provides an access area for takeoff, maritime safety with rescue vessel and qualified personnel, as well as the Kite rooms, with specific furniture for the cli-

ents’ equipment and easy access to the Kite Center.

A great deal of Villa Cojímar evokes the figure of Ernest Hemingway, because it bears the same name of the Havana town intimately linked to the sea and literary life of the writer, where he used to dock the yacht Pilar, as well as for being located in the scenario of one of his most important novels, Islands in the Stream, in which he describes the place as a “green and promising” site.

The principal markets that come to Villa Cojímar are Canada, United Kingdom, Argentina and the national; to a lesser extent tourists from Scandinavia, Finland, Russia and Italy. ■ CONTACT Address: Cayo Guillermo, Jardines del Rey, Ciego de Ávila Tel.: (53 33) 30 1712 / Fax: (53 33) 30 1725 E-mail: esp.ventas@cojimar.gca.tur.cu Web: www.gran-caribe.cu

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

Subtle Presence of Argentine Culture in Cuba I f we try to discern the scop scope of Argentine influence in the largest of the Antillean Antill islands, we note, an idea barely conceived, the possibility of taking several paths; more or less po popular paths, whose common denominator is the definitive enrichment of Cuban culture.

Suffice it to pay so some attention to the city’s cultural movement tto notice the proliferation of tango groups per performing in the middle of Havana’s Paseo d del Prado, to delve a bit in the collective me memory and feel in an explicit manner the imprint of that fanaticism caused in o our country by the magic nostalgia of a Ca Carlos Gardel, whose magnetizing power wo won over a multitude that indefinitely devoured devo “El día que me quieras”, or simply confirm the enjoyment of an exquisite Argentine candy called alfajor. And moreover m the enthusiastic congeniality that th the South American soccer, especially fig figures like Maradona, has sprouted in Cuba.

However, the subtle presence of Argentina in Cub Cuba doesn’t end there, and while it is tru true that in all the aforementioned tthere isn’t a lack of poetry – the po poetry that emanates naturally from all that is beautiful – we could not obviate that other trail that poeti poetic reality builds, solidifying vast ties, inherent to that expression that makes up for the lack of o a language only adhere hered to the “logical” or the

Jorge Luis Borges, notable Argentinian.

■ Julio Antonio Gómez Díaz

Professor of the Don Fernando Ortiz House of Higher Studies, University of Havana

“rational”. I’m speaking of the influence of such representative figures of the great South American nation like Jorge Luis Borges, a famous Argentine, an Argentine by birth and vocation.

Illustrative of these outstanding ties are the words of another poet, Cuban and universal – our Cintio Vitier – in one of the publications that has been a landmark in the evolution of our cultural history like the magazine Orígenes: “Because every matured guest, like Borges, because of the lucidity and inspiration, penetrates and verifies our house.”1 Borges enriches the arsenal of the Cuban poetic imagination, during years in which a small group of artists aimed to reinvent in Cuba that which another illustrious Argentine, the little remembered Eduardo Mallea, revealed as the secret Argentina.

In this Caribbean island that parallelism, necessary for the factual and daily existence, was welcomed and encouraged by the best of our artistic representation. Poets and critics like the emblematic Roberto Fernández Retamar and the already mentioned Cintio Vitier interwove that irrefutable imprint by revering one of the most loved sons of our America: “Is it perhaps licit that we approach such a poetic wisdom without the hope of translating something of the fervor into lessons?”2■ 1 Vitier, Cintio: En torno a la poesía de Jorge Luís Borges (About Jorge

Luis Borges’ poetry). In: Orígenes, volume 2, N. 6, 1945, p. 33.

2

Ibídem

Havana Remembers Fangio HAVANA remembers Argentine automobile racer Juan Manuel Fangio (Balcarce, June 24, 1911 – Buenos Aires, July 17, 1995) every Saturday at four in the afternoon on the Explanada de La Piragua, at one side of the Hotel Nacional and facing the immense Malecón seaside drive, journalist Lupe Fuentes, public relations representative of the Friends of Fangio Group, told TTC. The Group (www.amingosdefangio.org) is a non-profit association that brings together many of Cuba’s fans of automobile and motorcycle racing and vintage cars. It was created on July 1, 2007 by an enthusiastic group headed by Cuban Lorenzo Verdecia.

Friends of Fangio Group, in La Piragua, Havana.

The answer to why in a country like Cuba, so far away from Argentina and where there are no professional automobile races, Fangio is venerated comes from his transcendental contacts with the island.

On February 25, 1957 Fangio won in Havana the 1st Grand Prix of Cuba (the first Formula 1 race in Havana), whose circuit on the Malecón seaside drive was almost six kilometers long near an area known today as La Piragua.

On Sunday February 23, 1958, just a few hours before the 2nd Grand Prix of Cuba, he was kidnapped by a group of youths who belonged to the 26th of July Movement to show the world the strength of the revolutionary movement, and the news made the headlines of the principal dailies and magazines in the Americas and Europe. The Lincoln Hotel currently keeps as a museum room 810, where Fangio stayed during that trip.

Considered one of the best Formula 1 drivers, Fangio was five-time champion in that modality, in which, after beginning his career in 1948, he maintained the record of most titles for more than four decades. At the time of his death he had to his name 24 Grand Prix before his retirement in 1958. ■

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E

l Cobre Cultural Landscape and names sites of the ways of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre – like Cayo La Virgen and Barajagua – have been declared a National Monument of the Republic of Cuba.

The official appointment recognizes the statue of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, found on the Bay of Nipe in 1612, as part of the identity of the Cuban people, which has paid her tribute and has identified in her a symbol of faith and inspiration for their most cherished wishes for freedom and justice.

The Resolution, signed by Dr. Eusebio Leal, president of the National Commission of Monuments, also highlights how the basilica minor of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre is a place of pilgrimage for Cubans and foreigners; conserved there is the original statue, which has embroidered among its attributes the shield of the Cuban nation.

The basilica as well as the town of Real de Minas, where it is situated, is located in a select physical and natural framework that gives place, as a whole, to a cul-

Basilica Minor of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre.

El Cobre Cultural Landscape and Our Lady of Charity’s Ways Declared a National Monument tural landscape of high historical values, based on its character associated to the Temple and the remains of old buildings that served to venerate the virgin.

Also relevant, according to the document, is the exception-

al evidence of the Cuban industrial heritage and the first African slave uprisings in the country, represented in the copper mines.

To this is added the historical evidence of the statue of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre’s journey,

found by three humble fishers who transported it from the Bay of Nipe to the indigenous farm of Barajagua, following paths that cross the regions until reaching the mining town, of which there are lasting material testimonies. ■

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

Caribbean Tourism Summit in Jamaica

Argentine Arrivals to Cuba Increase IN THE January-February, 24,833 Argentine tourists arrived in Cuba (+37.3%), only preceded by Canada, thus displacing the European countries that have traditionally been the principal markets, like the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France and Spain.

A preliminary report published mid last March by the Cuban Tourist Information and Promotion Office for the Southern Cone, based in Argentina, said that in the first nine weeks of 2012 more Argentines had traveled to Cuba than in 2005 - preliminary estimates indicated then that up until last March 4, a total of 26,401 passengers, almost 40%

more than in 2010, had traveled from that South American nation to different tourist destinations in the Cuban archipelago.

According to the official site of the aforementioned Office, www.turismodecuba.com.ar, the providers of services in Argentina who support the marketing of the Cuba destination are, as tour operators: All Seasons, Chasma Tours, Delfos Operadora Mayorista, Empretur, Eurotur, Eurovips, Eves, Free Way, Geomédica, Grupo Online, Havanatur, Iberojet, Juan Toselli, Julia Tours, Logan Travel, MDC Marcelo Da Cunha Turismo, Mulemba, Ola Turismo, Organización Piamonte, Scubatour, Siga Turismo, Soles, Solways, Station Travel, Tip Travel Bureau, Top Dest, Tower Travel, Trayecto Uno and Viajes Barceló; and as airline companies: Copa Airlines, Cubana de Aviación, Grupo Taca y LAN AIRLINES S.A. ■

TTC Invite to Launching of COB Monographic Cuba at FITCuba AS PART of the days of conferer-ences parallel to the negotiations nss that will take place during FITT-Cuba 2012, on Tuesday May 8, att 15:30 hours, in the presentation on room of the town of La Estrelella, TTC will have a space for the he launching of the second edition on of the Caribbean Operators Book ok (COB) Monographic Cuba.

The COB Monographic Cuba is basically divided into two parts: ts: a mini guide of Cuba in Spanish, sh, Italian and English and a strictly l speaking directory.

The mini guide begins with general information about Cuba that offers: geographical, demographic and social data according to the official statistics of the latest annual close of the National Office of Statistics; politicaladministrative structures, national symbols, places declared

by UNESCO as World Heritage

Sites, cultural as well as natural, and Biosphere Reserves.

Following this it describes the principal tourist destinations, organized by the three geographic regions – western, central and eastern – and by provinces.

The second part is strictly speaking the directory, which lists around 1,500 references of places of interest basically for tour-

ism professionals (organized by province), with their addresses, telephones, email addresses and websites (if they have them). It is structured in the following items: banks, entities, foreign hotel companies, hotels, airports, cruise terminals, air cargo terminals, airlines, land transportation, marinas, real estate agencies, international scuba diving centers, convention centers, healthcare centers, travel agencies, tour operators and Infotur. The remaining pages comprise publicity for entities, paladares and accommodations in houses.

The COB Monographic Cuba will be distributed by courtesy at FITCuba and in the world tourism fairs where TTC participates, as well as during other tourist meetings. ■

Jamaica’s Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall.

The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a Caribbean Tourism Summit that will be supported by the Caribbean Tourism Association, from June 15 to 16, 2012 in Jamaica.

The Summit, to be held at Jamaica’s Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall, is open to all personnel of the tourism and hospitality industry of the region and will offer general sessions that will deal with diverse topics: international aeronautic policy and its impact on the Caribbean’s tourism; existing air routes to and in the Caribbean and projections for future development; competitiveness of the vacation experiences offered by the Caribbean: Caribbean hotels, are they being relegated by competitors in the Indian Ocean and South East Asia?; and person to person: the importance of services not only in hotels and restaurants but also taxis, shops and government services.

The event will also serve to hand over the industry’s prizes, including those for the Caribbean Employee of the Year, Caribbean Supervisor of the Year, Caribbean Allied Member of the Year, Caribbean Association Executive of the Year and Caribbean Hotel Manager of the Year.

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NEW CUBAN AND CARIBBEAN AIR CONNECTIONS

NEW COLOMBIA-CUBA FLIGHT Avianca-Taca Airline began a direct and nonstop Bogotá-Havana flight twice a week.

The link between Colombia and Cuba will be operated on Airbus A319s with capacity for 120 passengers, 12 in Business Class and 108 in Tourist Class, on Mondays and Fridays.

The flight schedules available now in the reservation systems will enable travelers from the Caribbean to have access to connections via Avianca to several Colombian cities. They will also have access to the principal capitals and cities of the region, like Caracas, Quito, Panama and Sao Paulo, among others.

The president of the company, Fabio Villegas, said that the aim of this route’s operations is to consolidate the connection options for the Latin American tourist market seeking leisure and enjoyment alternatives in the Caribbean. “We are very pleased to offer our clients this new route to get to Havana, a destination known for its history and natural attractions,” he underlined.

AIR EUROPA TO OPERATE DIRECT BARCELONA-SANTO DOMINGO ROUTE From June 24 to September 30 of this year, coinciding with the summer season, Air Europa will start operating a direct route between Barcelona and the capital of the Dominican Republic, which could be a permanent link depending on its success. The connection will initially be operated with two frequencies a week on an Airbus A320, with capacity for close to 300 persons.

Air Europa already has a regular link to Santo Domingo, but from Madrid’s Barajas Airport. The novelty of this new route lies in that in Barcelona the airline will not have another competitor, which is why the majority of the travelers going from that city to Santo Domingo will do so this summer using these flights.

With the new frequencies, Delta departs from New York to Santo Domingo at 8:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., and returns from the Dominican Republic at 1:40 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. In the case of Santiago, the departures from New York will be at 8:10 a.m. and 9:10 p.m., and the return trips at 1:15 p.m. and 2:02 a.m.

OPENING OF NEW FLIGHTS IN CANCUN Cancun’s tourist authorities were able to come to an agreement with several wholesale agencies and airlines for the opening of seven new flights to the famous destination of the Mexican Caribbean. Thanks to those negotiations, it hopes to achieve during this year a 20% increase in European visitors.

This was said by Jesús Almaguer, general director of the Cancun Office of Visitors and Conventions (OVC), who also highlighted that the German Condor Airline will increase its weekly flights to Cancun from four to seven, departing from Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich.

Moreover, the executive announced that the Air Berlin Company has accepted to increase the weekly links between the German capital and Cancun from three to four, and that the opening of three charter flights a week was negotiated by TUI. Almaguer also said that a Condor flight between Vienna and Cancun is in the process of negotiations as well as the possible reestablishment of the KLM flights from Holland to the Mexican Caribbean, thus increasing this market that now arrives indirectly to the region through Aeroflot, Air France and British Airways.

DELTA AIR LINES ADDS FLIGHTS TO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC In March Delta Air Lines added two new flights from the New York John F. Kennedy Airport to the Dominican Republic. The U.S. airline previously offered a daily flight to Santo Domingo and another to Santiago, the Caribbean country’s second city, close to the tourist area of Puerto Plata and its Costa Norte, and now there will be two in each case.

THREE NEW ROUTES FROM COSTA RICA WITH AVIANCA-TACA Montreal, Brasilia and Monterrey are the three new routes Avianca-Taca will open in the first week of June from the Juan Santamaría International Airport in San José, Costa Rica, from where the holding flies to another 18 destinations with direct flights.

The flight to Monterrey, Mexico, will be operated directly three times a week; to Montreal, three times a week with a stopover in its San Salvador connection center; and the service to Brasilia, with four weekly frequencies, will make a stopover in Bogotá, Colombia. These three flights are added to the 18 destinations serviced directly from the Costa Rican capital.

In 2011, the San José hub operated 306 flights a week, with an average 72.5% occupancy rate, offering 36,000 seats per week and more than 1.3 million mobilized passengers.

AIR CARAÏBES INAUGURATES SANTO DOMINGO-PARIS FLIGHT Air Caraïbes inaugurated the Santo Domingo-Paris Orly route on an Airbus A320300 – the first flight was on March 25. The two flights to Paris will offer services on Fridays and Sundays, thus responding to the growing demand of passengers to that destination.

With this new connection the airlines has six transatlantic flights, in addition to flying to Guadeloupe, Martinique, Port-au-Prince, Cuba and Brazil.

The Air Caraïbes fleet was expanded with five new Airbus A320s that in the first semester will offer a new Madras business class (Business-Affaires), as well as a new Caraïbes class (Premium economic). ■

TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

Panama to Host MITM Americas in 2012

PANAMA will be the venue of the 18th edition of the Meetings and Incentive Travel Market (MITM) Americas between December 5 and 7, 2012, with the support of the Tourism Authority.

The venue was requested by the authorities of that Central American country, involved in a great effort to promote tourism, and especially business tourism (conferences and incentive groups) and is turning that des-

tination into a leader in Latin America’s tourism growth.

The last MITM assessments by the exhibitors, highlighting that it is a forum to seek and achieve businesses in the MICE segment, characterized by the quality of the attending buyers, affirm that the 2012 edition will again be a success. ■

Accommodation Capacities Expanded in Guardalavaca THE TOURISM authorities in the Guardalavaca beach resort, in the easternmost part of Cuba, announced that they plan to expand their accommodation capacities with the construction of new installations. An agreement has been reached for the design of a work that will add 483 rooms to complete that tourist destination’s infrastructure.

The future accommodation and services unit, designed by the Vértice Company of the Cuban Ministry of Construction, will be operated by the Cubanacán and Iberostar tourism chains. Under the all-inclusive system, it will have five blocks for accommodations and three for services, supported on the recovery of already existing installations. Moreover, it will have five suites, an open-air spa service, Led illumination system and will use light colors with wooden carpentry. ■

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TRAVEL TRADE CARIBBEAN • YEAR XII • ISSUE 211 • MAY 2012

Varadero Stamps Seal of Quality on Constructions for Tourism

To the left the current state of construction and to the right what the terrace of El Patriarca Hotel will look like. Illustration courtesy of New Angle.

A

simple panoramic tour of Varadero is enough to become aware of the major investments being made to expand and upgrade the tourist, hotel, social, road, electricity, hydraulic and communications infrastructure of the famous beach resort.

Several works are simultaneously under way, from the simple expansion of hotels to the largescale investments like the extension of the Gaviota Marina, a whole complex.

But in all of them a common element has top priority, the strict control of quality, for which the System has been upgraded and executives, professionals and workers have been prepared. The experiences gained in Varadero will serve as reference for the constructions in Cuba’s other tourist destinations.

With this work TTC is beginning a series of articles about the construction works in the tourist sector which we will publish in successive editions.

EL PATRIARCA HOTEL On km 18.5 of Las Morlas Highway, between Las Salinas (current Memories Varadero Beach Resort) and Paradisus hotels, a villa resort type of hotel is being built, whose investment, 100% Cuban, responds to the name of El Patriarca Hotel.

Planned to operate under the all-inclusive modality, with a five-star plus category, it is attached to the Gaviota S.A. Tour-

ism Group and will be managed by the Spanish company H10 Hoteles, whose catalogue has included it as Ocean Varadero Aqua to open in 2012.

The work was begun on September 28, 2010 by the INMOBILIARIA ALMEST investment entity; Varadero’s ARCOS Construction Company; and Matanzas’ EMPAI drafting company – the latter of the Ministry of Construction.

The plot of land where the hotel stands has a good beach along almost all its width, and takes up a total land area of 171,100 m2 (17.11 ha) – 33,182 m2 of built area.

It has 421 rooms – 348 standard, 72 junior suites and an independent suite – of which 210 are matrimonial and 211 are double – four are for the handicapped.

The common objects include four bars, four restaurants, mul-

Bungalows area.

tipurpose hall, animation theatre with an area for shows, health center, nautical point and three swimming pools – one for children.

In accordance with the hotel’s concept, a contemporary atmosphere is achieved under the influence of the international modern movement, with Cuban traits provided by the materials, the furniture and visual works, translated into the cultural heritage, tradition and material context of the country.

The pool is the project’s backbone, and the point of departure, the preservation and increased value of the natural characteristics of the place, elements that have permeated the treatment of the landscape. Groups of five to seven bungalows, all of them two-story high, emerge among the trees blending in with the landscape with their lively colors.

The principal building is a big house with four wings where green patios, terraces or corridors, protected by eaves and water pools that decorate the walks, predominate.

Buildings in full harmony with the environment that continue as architectural references: Cuban wooden architecture, sloping roofs, balconies and roofed galleries, fine structural elements and integration into the plant element; and as interior references, warm and welcoming atmospheres of the Caribbean houses, wooden and rattan furniture and natural colors. ■

FECONS 2012 ENDS IN SUCCESSFUL NOTE

UNDER the slogan “Constructions guaranteeing the future”, the 9th International Construction Fair (Fecons 2012) concluded recently in Havana with a useful total of 4,060 m2 of exhibition area and the participation of 693 exhibitors, represented in 143 firms (20 Cuban and 123 foreign), from 26 countries: Germany, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, South Korea, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, Dominican Republic, Spain, United States, France, Virgin Island, Italy, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Panama, Czech Republic, Russia, Switzerland, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago. Thus it exceeded the 8th edition in 2010 – with 3,241 m2 of exhibition area and the participation of 23 countries.

The wide presence of businesspeople in Fecons 2012 is a sign of the trust investors have in the Cuban market.

Sponsored by the Ministry of Construction of Cuba (MICONS), in its nine editions Fecons has achieved an important space in the international commercial activity as a specialized biennial event.

As usual, the 9th ScientificTechnical Conference, an associated event, was held parallel to the congress in the framework of the 3rd Pan American Convention of Engineering UPADI 2012.

MICONS is immersed in important works that cover the tourism, housing, roads, port and hydraulic sectors, among others, as its first deputy minister, Angel Vilaragut, explained in the event’s opening session.