Cuba launches hotel chain for tourists after more than sun and sand

Sep 07, 07 | 7:58 am

Cuba has launched a hotel chain that will eventually include 50 establishments in different tourist areas of the country and represent an alternative to lodging options catering to beach-bound tourists.

The Hotel Encanto Palacio Azul, a converted 1920s mansion that Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero inaugurated Tuesday in the central city of Cienfuegos, is the first of the Hoteles E establishments to open its doors.

The project is an initiative to restore vintage buildings in Cuba's main historical squares and convert them into hotels.

Marrero said the Hoteles E plan "sprung out of an unsatisfied demand for tours (of the island) and cultural-historical tourism," the official Juventud Rebelde newspaper reported Wednesday.

The opening of these types of hotels "marks the beginning of a new trend in Cuban tourism that moves away from the sun and the beach to make way for what is most authentic about our cultural identity," he said.

The minister said the new approach would also "foster greater exchange between visitors and our people," which, if true, would mark a departure from the Communist government's long-standing policy of keeping locals away from tourist hotels.

The Hoteles E project is similar to an initiative launched in Havana by City Historian Eusebio Leal, who has restored several emblematic buildings to convert them into hotels in the capital's historical center.

One of the principal engines of Cuba's economy, the tourism industry has been experiencing tough times in recent months. To stem the decline in visitors and revenue, the government has announced an investment plan and measures to reduce costs and improve the quality of service and installations.

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Source: RBC Dain Rauscher