So popular in fact, the Travel Industry Committee on Cuba (TICC) will have a booth and reception at the forthcoming ASTA Trade Show in Orlando, Florida on September 10 to 12. Booth number 303 near the entrance at the front of the cruise section, en route to the Caribbean booths will be Cuba’s dedicated exhibition space. A reception on Monday, September 11, follows main events after trade fair opening. This reception however is outside the show floor.

According to coordinator John McAuliff, TICC members support restoration of freedom of travel to Cuba to create the same business opportunity already won by US farmers. “TICC also works to implement the pro-normalization views of two-thirds of Americans and to foster mutual understanding and the peaceful transition of relations.”

Mc Auliff suggests a nominal membership fee of $15 to $50, depending on circumstances, to help offset the cost of the booth and reception. “Since the total cost will be around $4000, larger tax deductible contributions to the Fund for Reconciliation and Development toward that amount are also most welcome,” he added. Andrea Holbrooke of Holbrooke Travel in Gainesville, Florida has agreed to serve as acting chair of TICC.

The committee will hold a brief organizational meeting either after the reception or on the morning on the last day. The group requests supporters to provide some 100 copies of a literature item or a poster for the booth and the reception or a Cuba CD or souvenir for the business card raffle.

Those who regard Cuba’s tourism as an infant trade may want to check and confirm it had already gained Approved Destination Status (ADS) from China, a tourism market booming in numbers and disposable income. In parallel, Cuba is working on its emerging market, the Middle East, which started producing 3000 arrivals since 2 years ago. “Visa is no longer a problem for this market segment. They can get tourist visas from any embassy. Visas can be obtained overnight for a small fee. With ordinary processing, visas can be issued within 5 to 7 business days. All Cuban embassies worldwide issue them unlike other countries that do so only with a number of select/ partner travel agents,” said general manager for the Cuba Tourism Board Jose Francisco Perez.

“When we checked the first 6 months of the year, we already recorded as many visas issued as last year’s. About 300 people arriving from the Middle East show visitors slowly growing in number year to year,” Ambassador Angel Dalmau Fernandez said.

According to Perez, they want to develop their program through the Caribbean Tourism Organization or CTO. “Several islands operating under the CTO get their business very well promoted. We are working together with the organization in order to generate more business through them.”

In parallel, the tourism board has actively attended road shows not only in the Caribbean region but elsewhere in Europe. Due to Cuba’s presence in trade shows, Perez confirmed to have increased charters from Europe (like Frankfurt in Germany) to Veradero and La Havana. Mexico flights have been bumped up to serve more tourists who come via Mexico and spend one to two weeks on the islands.

Cuba, in 1990, ranked number 23 in the Caribbean region in visitor terms and 21 in terms of revenues, receiving 340,000 guests equal to 3 percent of tourists to the region. Although gradually, Cuba built up tourism climbing up to number 14 in visitations and 11 in revenues in 1995; in 1998, it ranked 12 in visitations and 8 in revenues. Fourteen years later, it ranked eighth in the region in both visits (with 2.048 million) and revenues, reaching the 11 percent growth mark. For the first time in history, it welcomed 2 million guests in 2004. In 2005, Cuba reached over 2.34 million guests, a figure encouraging to have one consider that while the whole Caribbean region expects 30 million by 2010, Cuba had already achieved 7.8 percent of the Caribbean share in world tourism last year. In 2010, Cuba projects tourist numbers to shoot up to 3.5 million up to 4 million.

Perez said it was worth taking the risk. “When Cuba came full force into the business, there was a little bit of hesitation from our side. There are beaches and cultural offers put on the table by other Caribbean islands. There is no way for us to think of a possibility to work on our traditional products alone.”

What the Cubans did was tap on available resources, PR with neighboring islands. “We have excellent relations and communication with all Caribbean countries in this regard. However, there is one practical issue beyond our control. In the Caribbean, it is the issue of communication and transportation from one island to another. Infrastructure has been left underdeveloped as far as what we eventually want to see. We want complete integration in all terms including visitations and tourist events,” said Perez.
He said the CARICOM is working on this framework, however it may take time due to limitations in resources. “Slowly, we see some progress. The political will to integrate is there. It is just a matter of time and a question of economic resources before we are able to achieve our goals. Meanwhile, it is best to market us as multi-destination.”

In terms of the agreement in CARICOM, Cuba is still an observant country. Being a full member entails, in terms of the text of the agreement, economic matters that comply with the way Cuba works its economy. Fernandez said the Cuban economy is a mixed economy which does not feature privatization, as we know. “We need to cooperate further,” he said.