Juan Carlos García Granda
Minister of Tourism of Cuba
Juan David Latorre
From 30 April to 3 May, the FITCUBA 2025 International Tourism Fair took place in Havana at the Morro-Cabaña Complex, the most significant professional event that develops annually in the Cuban tourist industry under the slogan Cuba es Única.
The Diplomat spoke at the closing of the fair with the Cuban minister of tourism, Juan Carlos García Granda, and expressed “his joy and enthusiasm”, because, according to him, “FitCuba 2025, exceeded expectations in terms of organization and participation, as more than 1,500 foreign professionals, including travel agencies and the press, from 58 countries attended. This fair was attended by more than 2,573 national professionals, representing both the state and non-state sectors and integrated all as part of the Cuban tourist product, showing everything we offer”.
“The fair exceeded our expectations also by the comments of tour operators on the quality of service and our performance this winter. We are hopeful that the actions taken, such as funding suppliers, will allow us to recover, especially next winter, with an increase in visitors”, he said.
García Granda noted that “these actions are part of a path that is already yielding results. We are empowering entrepreneurship, improving its competitiveness and allowing it to manage its income more flexibly. We have also incorporated hotel leases, which will have a positive impact”.
He also stressed that “we are in a process of transformation, eliminating higher structures that limited management at the base”, and added that “this applies especially in areas such as foreign investment, where we seek greater autonomy”.
“In this fair we wanted to rescue and show our traditions. We are a country with a lot of culture, a lot of heritage. In fact we are great conservators of the Spanish heritage. We have Old Havana, we have Trinidad, and this same fortress (Complex Morro -Cabaña). The Latin American market is also key for us, it’s fundamental. At a time when our main market would be the United States, because of its proximity, volume and economic capacity, they are forbidden to visit Cuba. On the other hand, we receive many tourists from China, but the distance to our country is very long. Hence the importance of this Latin American market.”
The minister described the current market scenario in Cuba as “very complex”, due to “the blockade imposed by the US, the ban on ESTA for Europeans who have visited Cuba and the coronavirus crisis, which has been particularly severe.
Minister Juan Carlos García Granda then spoke of the Spanish market, emphasizing the “great importance” it has for Cuba, and highlighted the Spanish heritage that it possesses, the maximum security that its streets have, “and in recent years we are betting on another form of tourism, such as health and well-being”. “The Spanish business community, continued the Cuban minister, exceeds the role of Cuba’s issuer. We have 65% of the hotel occupancy managed or in some form of foreign investment by Spanish companies. When Meliá arrived in Cuba, Fidel Castro said they were ‘brave Spaniards’. Because being in Cuba means receiving a lot of pressure, and the result is that to a large extent this recovery of Cuban tourism is led by Spanish entrepreneurs.”
Regarding diplomatic relations with Spain, the Cuban Minister of Tourism stated that “we have good relations with the Spanish government, as well as with all Latin American countries and almost all countries in the world. From the governmental point of view, we are a country of peace, a very solidary country, and even with those who do not necessarily have diplomatic relations, we do connect from the tourist point of view. Here everyone is welcome, we respect and give to everyone what we have with this motto: ‘Don’t give what we have, share what we have’.”
The 44th edition of the Cuba International Tourism Fair in 2026 will be dedicated to Canada, to the product sun and beach, and will have Varadero, the largest spa in Cuba, as its headquarters. This was announced at the end of the most important professional event for the sector.
