The “Sustainable Development and Diversification Program” looks in particular at major destinations for tourism, ranging from Playa Santa Lucia to Cayo Cruz, as well as including the historic center of the city, which is a World Heritage Site.
The province, the largest in Cuba, and which has construction potential of more than 30,000 rooms alone on its northern shores, has a center in Cemtur whose studies focus on the productive supply chain of agricultural products, and an integrated assessment of the sustainability of beach destinations.
In addition to coordinating with the Ministry of Tourism, entities from the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, or the Office of the City Historian, play a key role in managing the program, with specialists from economics, civil engineering, architecture, computer science, or heritage management.
The Sustainable Development Program aims to improve the quality of services, and encourages an increase in the number of foreign tourists in Cuba, which has been hit hard by the Covid-19 virus.
According to statistics provided by the Cemtur administration, in 2018 the number of visitors to Cuba reached four million 711 thousand, while by 2020 it had decreased to just over one million.
However, by 2022, according to the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), in October last year, 566,770 visitors had already arrived, just in that period.
Two years ago, Cuba reopened to foreigners. By 2022, ONEI estimates that 2.5 million foreigners will enter, however, competition with the Dominican Republic and Jamaica in the Caribbean remains a major factor.
It is estimated that about seven million will arrive in the Dominican Republic in 2022, while two and five million will arrive in Jamaica.
Havana, Varadero, Jardín del Rey, Cayparín, North Holguín, Santiago de Cuba, South Coast and Canarios Mountains have the main potential for room growth in Cuba for tourism exploitation.
Only in Camaguey, which includes a little more than 20 percent of the beaches of the largest Antilles, about 35.4 thousand housing units are counted, especially in the north of the region, where Cayo Cruz stands out, which already includes hotels of the Spanish Iberostar hotel group.
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