Cuba Welcomes Tourists Back … In Its Own Way
Cuba says the non-mainstream manner in which it re-entered international tourism should reassure potential visitors who may be uneasy about travel these days as the coronavirus pandemic continues, reports Ian Stalker in this week’s issue of Canadian Travel Press.
July 1 saw the reopening of a cluster of islands off Cuba’s north coast that to date have been coronavirus-free and are only home to those working in the travel industry, with those islands having been uninhabited before being developed for tourism.
The reopening of the islands followed what the Cuba Tourist Board calls a “complete and rigorous certification program with far-reaching health and safety protocols at all the hotels, non-hotel services, support services, transportation and all companies of the tourism sector.”
The protocols were drawn up by the country’s Ministries of Tourism and Public Health, with input from the World Tourism Organization and the World Health Organization, along with tour operators, and Cuban tourism companies.
The somewhat isolated nature of the islands will keep tourists and the population at large apart, which Cuba says will help keep both groups safe.
Lessner Gomez, the Cuba Tourism Board’s director for English-speaking Canada, said that he has “total confidence” that the measures introduced will keep visitors healthy.
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