When eight months ago the winds of Irma ill-treated Cayo Santa Maria’s coast, many believed the 38th edition of FITCuba, was doomed. Land and hotels were hit severely yes, but recovered at light speed, so by the time the Cuban Minister of Tourism made his inaugural speech yesterday, no one remembered the hurricane as for another setback that Cubans fought corageously until turned onto something positive.
“As you can all see today, hotels in the keys are recuperated and running”… “In 2018, 917 new rooms will open on the Villa Clara keys”, annouced Marrero in the theatre of Sercotel Experience hotel which is the venue of the event until next Saturday.
This year, FITCuba is dedicated to the UK and the vacational product, that’s why the foreign address of the opening ceremony was delivered by Nigel Baker, Head of the Latin American Division at the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Commonwealth.
“The election of the United Kingdom as the fairs’ guest country was based on its tremendous significance as an outbound market for Cuba. From 2014 to 2017, a grand total of 205,700 British tourists had visited Cuba, a figure that makes the UK Cuba’s sixth-largest outbound market and fourth out of Europe” said the Cuban Minister, a fact that was reinforced in Baker’s speech.
Performances by Acosta Danza and duet Buena Fe were highlights of the event that this year accounts for more than 3000 participants from 52 countries.
Our President Gabriel Escarrer Juliá and CEO and Vicepresident Gabriel Escarrer Jaume attended the act as special guests, accompanied by Gabriel Canaves and Francisco Camps,Director and Vicedirector of the Meliá Hotels International Cuba Division.
On the negotiation area, Meliá Cuba’s executives succesfully met with partners from all over the world including Booking.com, Expedia, Tropicana Touristik, Thomas Cook and Aventoura. As the event continues we will be gathering with many other collaborators to present our season’s novelties and current operations.
For our team, however, the magic moment of Day One happened on the evening, during our company’s official cocktail, when CEO and Vicepresident Gabriel Escarrer Jaume, delivered an emotive speech emphasising in the commitment of the firm with the island and thanking its employees and corporate staff for the everyday endeavor. The activity which took place in Paradisus los Cayos, set to open soon in one of the most beautiful areas of Cayo Santa Maria, was an opportunity to present other Meliá’s recent developments and projects as hotels in Camaguey and Cienfuegos and Meliá Internacional in Varadero.
From today until the end of the week, FITCuba’s participants will be able to visit Paradisus los Cayos in three daily schedules.
The Fair continues, as “the love story between Meliá and Cuba”. Find us in bungalow 12 and follow our news in Social Media with the hashtag #MeliaFITCuba. Irma is long gone, Cayo Santa Maria and Cuba strike back!
