• Submitted by: Juana
• Local
• Travel and Tourism
• Destinations
• 11 / 24 / 2016

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According to sources from the Cuba´s Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR by its Spanish acronym), the island began its high tourist season focused on achieving a more competitive destination by the quality of its services and permanent innovation.
María del Pilar Macías, director of Quality and Operations of the sector, told the press that in this winter season, the existing facilities in the country were checked in order to declare them ready or not to welcome visitors.
According to the official, actions were conducted to increase the comfort of rooms, improve infrastructure and exterior image of hotels and incorporate new gastronomic offers, among other purposes.
Currently, the Caribbean nation has 65,000 rooms in hotels and more than 17,000 in private houses, as a complement to the state's offer.
Macías said that other entities are involved in the preparation of the season, such as airports, in which work is done to achieve higher quality standards in the attention to passengers, crews and aircrafts, at a time when air routes are being launched to the archipelago and the arrival of tourists grows at historical pace.
In the meeting it was highlighted the increase in air operations through companies such as Austrian Airlines, Pegas, Virgin Atlantic, Itaca, Alitalia, Turkish Airlines, Eurowings and XL Airways.
In addition, American Airlines, Jetblue, Delta, Spirit, United Airlines, Alaska, Frontier, Southwest and Sun Country will open regular flights from the United States to Havana from late November and early December.
To diversify the offer, MINTUR prioritizes diving and nautical activities, nature tourism and adventures, congresses and events, and circuits.
According to data offered by MINTUR, 3 193 109 vacationers have visited Cuba by the end of last October, up by 12 percent when compared to the same stage of the previous year.
Such behavior augurs a favorable result, when the country has the goal of receiving 175 000 tourists more than those counted in 2015 by the end of this year.