Article Directory :: Travel & Leisure Articles Cuban Tourism Sets Records in 2011 By Keith Howard Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 28Feb2012 Word count: 490 Viewed: 59 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site The 32nd annual International Tourism Trade Fair Madrid (FITUR) is one that usually offers one or two surprise stories every year - this year's event was no exception. One of the biggest surprises came by way of Cuba, which announced that the Caribbean island broke its all-time record of tourist arrivals by hosting 2.7 million visitors in 2011. Cuba enjoyed a very impressive growth of 7.3% last year as compared to 2010. They saw 200,000 more arrivals over 2010 numbers, as well as all of their visitors spending more money than they have in previous years. According to Cuban Minister of Tourism Manuel Marrero, though the news might have been surprising to Europeans, it was right in line with his country's expectations. The tourism industry has been making excellent gains in Cuba since the government opened the door to limited private investment and infrastructure development. Cuba has been focusing quite a bit on developing new markets in health and environmental tourism in an attempt to compete with other Caribbean destinations like Jamaica and St. Lucia. They are already doing well when it comes to their culture and history, two of the long-standing selling points that typically bring Europeans to the island. If Cuba can indeed compete, especially in the area of medical tourism, there's no reason why they can't break more records in the future. "Though we are not to give in our sun and beach tourism, which is the one that defines us, we will focus on a diversified product that enables clients to enjoy our rich historical and cultural heritage, as well as the environmental and health tourism," said Marrero in his official remarks in Madrid. He also emphasized the point that Cuba prefers to take "small, but steady, steps" in developing its tourist industry. Those small steps seem to be accumulating in very big ways. Sun, surf, and incredible Cuba luxury resorts used to be the mainstay of the Caribbean nation before it fell under dictatorial rule in the early 1950s. But with the rise of Raúl Castro to power in 2008 came a renewed sense of urgency to revitalize the nation's tourism industry. Today there are plenty of signs of activity including improvement of the nation's infrastructure, an influx of private investment dollars, and aggressive promotional campaign these by the Cuban Ministry of Tourism. Yet one of the most impressive signs of the government effort to revive tourism comes by way of the many run down and abandoned hotels in Cuba. They are now being renovated, where possible, or otherwise being demolished and replaced altogether. Tourism construction is alive and well in Cuba. As for Marrero's efforts at FITUR he is concentrating on establishing relationships with tour operators in Spain and the UK (the primary sources of new tourist arrivals). Travellers can expect to see many more opportunities open up in Cuba in the near future. Great deals on Cuba luxury resorts are just one of the many options available from Airworld Tours a luxury holiday company based in the UK. EasyPublish™ this article - publishers click here More articles by Keith Howard

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