Hotel chains maintain their commitment to Cuba despite the crisis

Hotel chains of America, Europe and Asia keep betting on Cuba and, far from retreating, they expand “confident” in the recovery of this tourist destination despite the serious economic crisis that the island suffers.

“Our commitment continues to be to develop tourism in Cuba despite the specific difficulties”the manager of the Varadero Beach complex of the Spanish company Barceló, which operates three facilities in the Caribbean country, told EFE.

From his stand at the International Tourism Fair (FitCuba), held this week in Havana, the Barceló representative pointed out that a sample of the “confidence in Cuba” is the increase in the number of visitors, even when “It does not reach the level of 2019”when the number approached 5 million.

The Cuban Minister of Tourism, Juan Carlos García Granda, announced at the fair that the island had reached one million tourists so far this year.

The figure represents an increase compared to 2022, but neither will the pre-pandemic levels be recovered nor will it be easy to achieve the government objective of 3.5 million visitors for the year as a whole.

The situation in the country is not easy. Blackouts are frequent, there are shortages of food, medicine and fuel, the inflationary spiral has skyrocketed prices and many roads and public infrastructure are in poor condition.

This negatively affects a vital sector, the second item of gross domestic product (GDP) and the third source of foreign currency, from the offer in the buffets of the all-inclusive resorts to the availability of fuel for rental vehicles, going through attention and certain services in tourist infrastructures.

However, this scenario does not stop the expansion project of the Canadian Blue Diamond Resort hotel chain, which has been in Cuba for 12 years and is one of the largest, with 28 hotels and nearly 11,000 rooms.

“We are growing to the east: Santiago de Cuba, Camagüey, Holguín and we seek to combine this circuit with Trinidad (center), Havana, Varadero (west) and other tourist poles”the commercial director of the company, Rafael Villanueva, told EFE.

“We are very optimistic, we see possibilities and we are hopeful that we will achieve the results we set for ourselves”added the Spanish businessman, who also participated in FitCuba.

The Blue Diamond Resort representative insisted that “You have to trust the destination Cuba for its potential in tourism; above all the huge smile in any place you go and the strength that makes you want to return”.

Iberostar and Meliá consolidate

Cuba closed its borders in 2020 to stop the spread of covid-19, thus reducing the entry of international tourism and the foreign exchange that this sector contributes.

The recovery in 2022 was slow, while in other sun and beach destinations in the Caribbean such as Cancun (Mexico) and Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) the rebound has almost doubled, according to experts consulted by EFE.

For the Cuban division of Iberostar, this represented a “decommercialization in comparison with Mexico, which never closed borders, or with the Dominican Republic, which opened them very quickly”the Marketing Director of that Spanish chain, Alexei Torres, explained to EFE.

“It has taken work, but we continue to bet on Cuba”said Torres, who considered that the “The main value of this destination is its people, the quality standards and the resilience of the people”.

Iberostar, with 18 hotels in the country, opened a new destination in Cayo Cruz (east) and expanded the Hotel Gran Trinidad (downtown), with 40 rooms, as part of the “diversification”.

“The intention is to diversify not only the traditional sun and beach segment, but also the conventional one. Cuba is the venue for large events and we also want these events to take place in our convention rooms”he added.

Another of the companies with a great presence is the Spanish Meliá, which has just announced that it will develop four 4 projects in Cuba, in addition to its current 33 facilities with 13,916 rooms.

Due to the pandemic, the chain abandoned the management of three hotels in Cuba, alleging “few business opportunities”but now it is expanding its presence in Havana and Holguín (downtown).

singapore inserts

The Singaporean company Banyan Tree Hotels Resorts is also expanding into Cuba, Debbie Gómez, the commercial director of the Dhawa brand of this chain, which has been operating in the northern keys of Villa Clara (downtown) for five years, told EFE.

“(The crisis) has been a challenge for us, but we have known how to handle it because we have faith in Cuba”assures this Dominican businesswoman, who believes that “The passenger who comes to Cuba seeks to know what the country really is and learns about the shortcomings.” For Gomez, “Cuba’s greatest attraction is its people.”

“The Cuban market reminds me a lot of my Homeland (Dominican Republic) because people make a huge difference in what is done”added Gómez, who announced that the group “It has three more hotels in projection in Varadero and another in Havana.”

Cuba currently has 81,000 rooms operated by 24 joint ventures and 18 foreign managers, according to official data. Most of them are managed by the state company Gaviota, which belongs to the GAESA business conglomerate of the Armed Forces.

Source: EFE