Cuban Minister of Tourism presents new campaign “Unica”, sets record objectives for 2022 and thanks Canadian agents for their hard work and loyalty

Here is why your clients should choose Cuba in 2022!

From left to right: Lessner Gomez, Director of Cuban Tourist Board, Ghiana Galindo, Commercial Director MINTUR, Sharon Arghittu, Product Director Hola Sun Holidays, Marisabel Gonzalez, President Hola Sun Holidays & Caribe Sol, Juan Carlos Garcia Granda, Minister of Tourism of Cuba, Hugo Rocha, General Manager Hola Sun and Roberto Diaz, BDM sales Hola Sun

Cuban Minister of Tourism, Juan Carlos Garcia, has visited Canada with a new mission, to present Canadian agents and media suppliers a new strategy for 2022 travel – Unica.

Cuban new tourism strategy focuses on different type of vacation. For many years now, Cuba has been known for their beaches and sun tours but now it’s time to learn more about Cuba and what it has to offer to the Canadian travellers.

Unica represents other side of Cuba with its cultural heritage, history and of course Cuban people!

During his presentation, Juan Carlos Garcia talked about the destinations recent achievements including:

Elimination of all travel restrictions at the border
Removing mask mandate
Development of 5 Cuban vaccines (3 of them have been certified an approved)
90% of Cuban population has been vaccinated with their own vaccines including children over 2 years old
All 10 international airports have been opened including 3 cruise terminals and 10 ports and international marinas
At the end of April 2022 Cuba has 78,862 rooms in total ready for travellers
Santa Maria Beach has been awarded as one of the “Best Beaches in the World” by TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice 2022
“Best Cultural Destination in the Caribbean 2021” by World Travel Awards and more

“There are no stops to the growth of this (tourism) sector” says Juan Carlos Garcia, Minister of Tourism of Cuba. Hotels and gastronomy sector is the second most growing sector in Cuba, followed by transportation and communication.

With many more things to come, the goal for Cuban tourism has been set. Cuba is excepting 2.5 million tourists this year and to make that happen, they need support of Canadian travellers.

“It is you who can help us to make this a reality and be able to get all this people travelling to Cuba” says Juan Carlos. He also mentions the recent announcement made by the US allowing American travellers to come to Cuba under the 12 categories of authorized travel. Plus, Cuba is now focusing on European markets like France, Spain and Germany to attract more tourists to the island.

Although, Cuba is attracting many international travellers, “It is you (Canada) that we will always be supporting” says Garcia as Canada has been number one market for many years from 1995 to 2019.

At the end of May 2022, Cuba has registered an overwhelming number of 567,600 arrivals.

New for 2022

To help reach the goal of 2.5 million tourists in 2022, Cuba has announced the following:

Extended connection of free Wi-Fi in 3-5-star resorts
Payments by QR codes
The use of new pre-paid cards to avoid using cash. You can purchase those cards at any exchange place or hotel. Cuban pesos are still in rotation but Cuba no longer accepts US dollars
New pre-check system. It allows you to input all travel documents prior to your trip, so you no longer need to fill anything out at the airport or hotel. You can simply add all information there and pick up your keys at the lobby upon arrival
Cuba is turning their destinations into “smart” destination to modernize travel experience
In about three months, Cuba might start issuing Travel Visas
New services available at tourists’ areas:
- New vehicle models available to rent
- Unrestricted mobility throughout the city
- Tourist buses available at all tourist areas
- Shuttle bus (transfers) between airports and hotels

Unica

But let’s go back to the main reason the Minister of Tourism has visited Canada for - the Unica!

Cuba is a country that is not only about beaches and sun. Here are few other reasons why you should visit Cuba:

Cuba has 9 cultural heritage of humanity sites (UNESCO)
6 biosphere reserve sites (UNESCO)
17 national cultural heritage
4 intangible cultural heritage of humanity (UNESCO)
14 national parks
277 national monuments
6 Ramsar sites

“We want to sell more than beaches and sun, but a destination’s nature. We want to have more rural tourism, offer travellers to visit the countryside of Cuba” says Garcia.

Cuba also wants to focus on the adventure tourism offering travellers special packages including city tours. “Very few places can offer the safety to walk around the cities”.

To help travellers experience cultural sites of Cuba, the Tourism Board will start publishing main events happening on the island and you can buy tickets in advance, so make sure to check the event calendar before flying down there! Some of the events include:

The culture of Cuba is one of its most distinctive features and one of its greatest potential. Cuba is unique because of its aromas and colours, its different because of its history, traditions and hospitality. “Health and safety, the joy of Cuban people and most of all because of the people, Cuba is different, they are our best ambassadors” comments Minister of Tourism.

“It’s Cubans who make CUBA … UNIQUE”

Want to book a trip to Cuba? Reach out to the Cuban Specialist – Hola Sun Holidays who now offer direct flight with the new airline OWG!