Eloy Govea, Director of
Cuba Tourism Office Toronto; Javier Domokos Ruiz, Consul General of Cuba in
Toronto; Maria del Carmen, Ministry of Tourism;
Manuel Marrero, Minister of
Tourism; Carmen Casal, Consul General in Montreal; Ambassador
Julio Garmendia
Barcelo’s Rick McCauley
with
Stephen Hunter, President of Sunwing
Sobeida Feliz, Global Account Manager, Warwick International Hotels;
Manuel Marrero; Eloy Govea
& Sylvie Legaré, Senior
Director Product, Transat Tours Canada.
There was an amazing view from Toula Restaurant on the 38th
floor of the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto. But not as gob-smacking as some
of the statistics provided by our host, Cuba’s Minister of Tourism Manuel
Marrero, addressing movers and shakers in the ITC business including tour
operators and hotel reps.
Through an interpreter, Marrero explained that up to October
31
st this year the island had welcomed 2,850,000 visitors – up 18%
year over year (Europe is up 25% and Canada is up over 13%, delivering to date
over a million visitors in 2015 alone).
And there are changes to come, for sure. The country
recently switched to USD pricing for hotels, which Marrero described as
necessary to update Cuba’s economic model as over $100 million has been lost
through exchange rates, and “we must be like all the others”.
He added: “Everyone knows we are living a new scenario,
after Barack Obama announced a new relationship with Cuba.” And nowhere more
true than in the hotel sector, which is adding 2,000 more rooms per year for
now, a whopping 4,000 rooms annually starting in 2018. He also remarked that
there is, frankly, too much 2 and 3 star product in Havana and many of these
properties will be upgraded, plus significant investment will be made in
heritage cities such as Trinidad, Cienfuegos and Camaguey. The minister was
also careful to point out that much of the American demand will be for
casa
particulars
(private homes or B&Bs) of which there are 12,500 in the
country already.
“There is no reason for the American market to set aside the
Canadians: we have a solid relationship with tour operators and airlines in
Canada and cannot afford to lose 1,250,000 Canadians. Our revolution proved
that Cuba never forgets those who extended their hands in our toughest
times. We are very thankful people and will be dedicating FIT, our annual
tourism fair, to Canada in 2016.”
All stirring stuff, but I was still curious. In a private
word with the Minister, I asked the question a lot of people have been asking
me: so with the end of the boycott, will McDonalds come to Cuba?
“We have no interest in fast food franchises – in Cuba we
have thousands of excellent restaurants. We are looking for investment, yes,
but in hotels, waterparks, golf courses. Not restaurants.”
