Germans in the Caribbean. Tourism in the Caribbean, Ups and Downs in 2013. Cuba at ITB 2014

1. # 227
www.traveltradecaribbean.com
International Tourism Publication founded in 1996
Year XIV • No. 227 • March 2014
Regular Edition • ISSN 1724-5370
Germans in the Caribbean
A certain recovery of the German
market in the Caribbean during
last 2013 can be seen based on
some statistics published on tour-
ist arrivals from that country to
the region’s principal destinations.
In this way, increases were registered in the Dominican Republic
of 16% and in Cuba of 7%, where it
closed as the third issuing market.
Germany was the sixth market in
the Riviera Maya and the Mexican
Caribbean, and ninth in the ranking of arrivals by air to Mexico, as
a whole.
4
Cuba at ITB 2014
2
Cuba is present at ITB 2014 in stand 209, Pavilion 3, decorated with images of the Authentic Cuba campaign.
Tourism in the Caribbean: Ups
and Downs in 2013
A total of 25 million tourists traveled last year to the Caribbean, 1.8% more with respect to the previous year, although this
growth is below the 4.9% reported in 2012, the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) reported.
8
6
International
Construction
Fair in Cuba
8
Aruba 2014 Calendar
of Tourism Events
12
New Air
Connections
in the Caribbean
18
The 15th Dominican
Annual Tourism Exchange
(DATE 2014)

2. Cuba
Cuba at
ITB 2014
the potentials of Havana, Varadero, the keys,
Holguín and central Cuba as the principal regions for the German market.
Moreover, Cuba aims to highlight among the
participants in ITB the messages and supports
of the current Authentic Cuba destination campaign and promote the principal events that
will take place in 2014:
he German market is of notable importance for Cuban tourism. In 2013, 115,984
Germans visited the island, 6.7% more
than in 2012; it closed the year as the third issuing market of foreign visitors to the destination,
after Canada and the United Kingdom.
The principal objectives of Cuba’s participation in ITB 2014 are geared at the strengthening
of the links with the most important German
partners for the tourist operation, from the market to Cuba; as well as the display of the wealth
and variety of the Cuban tourist product, especially Sun and Beach, a star modality, as well as
others of notable quality like Circuits, Nautical,
Events and Incentives, Weddings and Honeymoons, Historic-Cultural and Nature Tourism.
The island’s presence will emphasize specialized Nautical tourism (scuba diving, fishing, life
on board and other modalities), given the importance of the goal sector of the product on
the market; while updating the participants on
▶▶ Montecristo Golf Cup Tournament, April 10-12.
▶▶ The meeting of Clients and Friends of the
Partagás Casa del Habano, April 14-18 and
November 17-21, in Havana.
▶▶ Varadero Gourmet International Festival,
April 23-25.
▶▶ FITCuba 2014, the most important event of
the Cuban tourist industry, already with 34
years of experience, to be held May 6-10 in
Havana, dedicated to the Circuits product
and France as the guest country.
▶▶ Fotosub, to be held May 14-18 on the Isla de
la Juventud.
▶▶ Ernest Hemingway International Marlin Fishing Tournament, June 9-14, and Jardines del
Rey Fishing Tournament, in October.
▶▶ 4th International Underwater Photography
Meeting (IMASUB), June 16-21, 2014.
▶▶ 3rd International Nature Photography Contest, September 15-20, 2014.
T
TTC Travel Trade Caribbean srl
Via Balbo, 1 Chieri. Torino, Italia
Tel. +39 3938196638
E-mail italia@traveltradecaribbean.com
Web www.traveltradecaribbean.com
Honorary President
Renzo Druetto
Principal Director
Giuseppe Ferraris
General Director
Alfredo Rodríguez
director@traveltradecaribbean.com
Editorial Director Italy
Roberto Barbieri
roberto.barbieri@traveltradecaribbean.com
Editorial Staff Italy
Filippo D'Arino
darinottc@gmail.com
Editorial Staff Cuba
Josefina Pichardo
redaccion@traveltradecaribbean.com
Francisco Forteza
fortezamartin@hotmail.com
Editorial Staff Dominican Republic
Francesco Pandolfo
laromanabayahibenews@yahoo.com
Marketing Italy
Paola Germano
marketing.italia@traveltradecaribbean.com
Marketing Cuba
Guadalupe Pérez
guadalupe@traveltradecaribbean.com
Marketing Dominican Republic
Flavia Anelli
laromanabayahibenews@yahoo.com
Graphic Design Italy
Mauro Melis
mauro@mauromelis.it
Graphic Design Cuba
Andro Liuben Pérez Diz
androliuben@traveltradecaribbean.com
Webmaster
Hairo Rodríguez
hairorh@gmail.com
Cuba Registers More Than 1.8 Billion
Dollars in Tourism Income
Cuba’s tourist entities attracted in 2013 more
than 1,803,916,200 CUC (Cuban convertible pesos, equivalent to the same amount in dollars)
in income –expenditures by international visitors in the fundamental activity–, representing
1.9% more than in 2012.
According to the National Office of Statistics
and Information’s International Tourism –Selected Indicators report, the greatest contributor was gastronomy, 701,907,200 CUC (38.9% of
the total), followed by accommodation, transportation, retail commerce and recreation.
In the hotel sector, during 2013 there was
an average occupancy rate of 44.8%, estimated based on the existing hotel room capacity.
During this period, Cuba’s accommodation establishments registered 15,827,441 overnight stays by
foreign tourists, 86.1% of the figure for 2012. •
2ttc
Jesus Rodríguez Jr.
jesus.rodriguez@traveltradecaribbean.com
Website
Narmys Cándano
narmys@traveltradecaribbean.com
Collaboration
Ana Cecilia Herrera
anac@traveltradecaribbean.com
Dagmara Blanco
dagmara@traveltradecaribbean.com
Ernesto L. Rodríguez
ernesto@traveltradecaribbean.com
Magdalena García
magda@enet.cu
María E. Leyva
mariae.leyva@traveltradecaribbean.com
Mirta Valdés
mirta@traveltradecaribbean.com
Silvia I. Alfonso
silvia@traveltradecaribbean.com
Print
Micrograf S.r.l.
The greatest contributor was gastronomy.
Photo: Courtesy of Habaguanex S.A.
TTC Travel Trade Caribbean srl
Registered at the Milan Court, number 166, 13/03/2002.
Registered at the Chamber of Commerce: 08/01/2001.
Registered in ROC Italia.

4. caribbean
Travel Trade Caribbean • Year XIV • No. 227 • March 2014
Seven Cuban
Townships
Celebrate
500 Years
Sancti Spíritus
Founded by Governor Diego Velázquez between 1511 and 1519, the first seven Cuban
townships are commemorating around
these days their half millennium, an entire
tourist event.
Baracoa, the First City, began its celebrations in 2011 –created as Nuestra Señora de
la Asunción de Baracoa on August 15, 1511–,
followed by Bayamo, formerly San Salvador
de Bayamo, whose settlement dates back to
November 5, 1513.
This year (2014), Trinidad (Santísima Trinidad), Camagüey (Santa María del Puerto
del Príncipe) and Sancti Spíritus, townships
whose foundational dates are recognized
as January 1514, February 2, 1514 and June 4,
1514, are celebrating their half millennium.
Santiago de Cuba will arrive at half a millennium in 2015 (created on July 25, 1515), and
Havana will do so in 2019 –officially established on November 16, 1519 under the name
of San Cristóbal de La Habana.
Some of these township’s zones are
among those declared by UNESCO as World
Heritage Sites: Old Havana and its system of
fortresses, Trinidad and the Valle de los Ingenios, the San Pedro de la Roca Castle in
Santiago de Cuba and the Historic Center of
Camagüey, in 1982, 1988, 1997 and 2008, respectively.
At this moment in time, all of them, tourist destinations per se, make up the group of
most important sites of interest for historical
and cultural tourism, which combine with
other tourist modalities. •
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Germans in
the Caribbean
T
he Central Bank (BC) of the Dominican Republic highlighted the performance of the
European market, the EFE news agency
published, which continues showing improvement, basically explaining the increase witnessed by Germany and other European issuing
markets. The BC data point out that the United
States maintains the greatest participation, followed by Canada.
According to the Monthly Bulletin of Tourist
Statistics of the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic (ASONAHORES),
in 2013 a total of 4,689,770 foreign and non-resident Dominican passengers arrived in the country, which compared to the 4,562,606 arrivals in
2012 represents a 2.8% growth rate.
The media has highlighted the notable
positive performance of the German market
with 214,151 tourists which, with respect to the
183,887 in 2012, represents a more than 16%
growth, thus surpassing the poor performance
in the last decade.
Reviewing the figures for non-resident visitors to the Dominican Republic, according to
nationality and airports, in 2013 we saw that the
214,151 Germans, which as a whole represented
5.3% of the total, had a greater incidence in the
air terminals of Punta Cana, Puerto Plata and
Las Américas (Santo Domingo).
Specifically in the Punta Cana airport –through
which 2,591,175 visitors arrived, 63.3% of the visitors to the country in 2013–, German travelers
represented almost 4%; and in the one of Puerto Plata, the European market, which as a whole
contributed 101,318 travelers, was led by Germany
with 34,159 (0.8%), followed by the United Kingdom and France.
Germany closed last year as the third issuing
market to Cuba, like in 2012, only preceded by
Canada and the United Kingdom. According to
reports by the National Office of Statistics and
Information, 2,852,572 tourists visited Cuba in
2013. Last year the Germans contributed 4.1%
of the arrivals, with a total of 115,984 visitors, a
figure equivalent to 106.7% in 2012 when the
island welcomed 108,712 Germans. Germany is
the third consumer market (6%) of nature tourism in the province of Holguín, one of the principal Cuban destinations.
According to the Integral System of Migration Operations of Mexico, Germany continued
among the principal issuing markets for the Riviera Maya and the Mexican Caribbean, preceded by the United States, Mexico, Canada, United
Kingdom and Spain.
Between January and November 2013, the
Cancún and Cozumel airports registered the
arrival of 4,924,814 visitors, 10.9% more than in
2012; meanwhile, some 2,967,060 tourists arrived
in the Riviera Maya, representing an increase of
6.4% with respect to the previous year.
In the ranking of arrivals by air to Mexico in
2013, Germany came in ninth place with 187,100,
implying a 2013/2012 variation of 8.3%. •

5. Cubanacán Travel Agency,
German Market’s Best Host
C
ubanacán Travel Agency offers German
clients a varied range of products for
a delightful and pleasant stay in Cuba.
Diverse seven-to-14-day circuits, excursions,
transfers and accommodations in all the tourist
destinations form part of its extensive portfolio.
It also has programs with cars included and for ecotourism, always offering visitors the possibility of getting to know the beauty of the island
and to be in direct contact with its culture and history, together with the
unequalled friendliness and hospitality of Cubans.
Between November 2012 and December 2013 the Agency received more
than 27,000 German tourists.
Statistics place Havana, Trinidad, Pinar del Río, Santiago de Cuba, Holguín and the keys as the most visited destinations.
According to Lilia Cira Fernández, marketing specialist, “the German
market is of great importance for the Cubanacán Travel Agency. We are
betting on offering new products and improving those that require it, for the sake of pleasing
the most diverse and demanding requests. Our
goal is to win over the fidelity of clients with the
guarantee that we will always be, as our slogan
says, ‘at your side’.”
On August 4, 2014, Cubanacán Travel Agency will be celebrating its 20th
anniversary, for which a publicity and marketing campaign has been projected that includes the launching of new catalogs and more attractive offers adapted to the new trends of current tourism.
Some of the novelties for this year include the Home plus Car and Free
Vacations catalogues. Both modalities with cars provide clients with the
option of planning their trip with total freedom and according to their interests, combining them with the contracting of restaurant and accommodation services while fully enjoying the beauties of the Cuban tourist
destination. •
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6. Luxury
Cigars at
Top-Notch
Beaches
T
hese spaces, which express the vocation
for details of the Gaviota S.A. Tourism
Group, are a veritable paradise for Havana cigar aficionados, with the brands most renowned for their variety of types of cigars and
personalized and preferential service.
Top-notch beaches, comfort and hospitality
are found in these hotels to open a new path
to achieve perfection and pleasure of the senses, between aromas and flavors that offer a dis-
The Cigar Bars of the hotels Playa Cayo Santa María, on the Villa
Clara keys; Playa Coco, on Cayo
Coco, Jardines del Rey, to the
north of Ciego de Avila; and Playa Costa Verde, in Holguín, have
been especially created for the
contact and enjoyment of Havana cigars in the company of some
of its most faithful allies like
spirits, chocolates, coffee and
other many products from selected and wide-ranging places
in Cuba and the world.
tinct way of enjoying Cuba by getting firsthand
knowledge about Havana cigars, the rituals associated to their consumption, the history and
tradition of a manufacturing with Protected
Designation of Origin (PDO) that is also a symbol of national culture and identity.
With their Cigar Bars the Playa Cayo Santa
María, Playa Coco and Playa Costa Verde hotels
present their guests with the gift of an alluring parenthesis of confabulation between refinement, distinction and art; a different place
where luxury consists in enjoying one of the
most prized products of the world, with the
guarantees of a proverbially hospitable host
and by the seaside of beaches that classify
among the best in the Caribbean. •
International Construction Fair in Cuba
The 10th International Construction Fair (FECONS 2014) will take
place April 8-12 at the PABEXPO
fairgrounds in Havana.
FECONS has achieved an important space in the international
commercial activity as a specialized biennial event. Through the
relation between exhibitors, buyers and professional visitors it favors knowledge about products
and novel technologies for their
introduction and generalization
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in the Cuban market. This biennial event saw the light in April 1998
and in the last edition in 2012 the
business deals stood at more than
50 million dollars.
The 10th Scientific-Technical
Construction Conference, a scenario to gauge the development in this
sector as well as exchanging information and scientific and technical
experiences, will be held, as a usual
associated event, from April 8 to 10,
on the sidelines of the Fair. •
TTC to Publish Special
Supplement for FECONS
TTC Travel Trade Caribbean is preparing a Special Supplement on the principal investments in
Cuba to be distributed at the 10th International
Construction Fair (FECONS 2014).
For more information contact us:
marketing@traveltradecaribbean.com

8. caribbean
Travel Trade Caribbean • Year XIV • No. 227 • March 2014
Tourism in the Caribbean: Ups and Downs in 2013
D
uring the presentation of the annual report on the State of the Industry, Beverly Nicholson Doty, chairwoman of the CTO, said that
it is expected that the demand in the tourist sector will continue
buoyant and the arrival of tourists to the Caribbean will increase between
2 and 3% in 2014.
According to the report, the increase in international tourist arrivals is
below the global growth of 5% registered by the World Tourism Organization in 2013. In that indicator, other regions of the world noted more significant increases like the case of Europe (+5.4%), Asia-Pacific (6%) or Africa
(5.6%).
On the other hand, international tourist expenditure in the Caribbean region stood at 28.1 billion dollars in the recently concluded year, 2.3%
more compared to 2012, while the accommodation sector registered a
7.5% increase in income per room.
According to official data, these results respond to the improvement of
three of the principal hotel indicators: price per room, average income per
available room and the hotel occupancy rate.
Nicholson Doty also highlighted the important increase in the number
of arrivals of visitors from Latin America, as well as the number of trips
Turks and Caicos
Islands Develop
Medical Tourism
The British Overseas Territory’s Cabinet of
Turks and Caicos announced it is looking to
turn its medical tourism dreams into realities.
The Cabinet had approved the membership of a Medical Tourism Steering Committee. The committee, which is established initially for a period of one year, will “develop
clear policies for the operation of medical
tourism activities in the hospitals in Providenciales and Grand Turk,” according to an
official statement.
Turks and Caicos Islands Governor Peter
Beckingham first announced the territory’s
plans to develop a medical tourism policy
in his Throne Speech at the beginning of
January. That is part of a wider push by the
Turks and Caicos Islands to expand its tourism product beyond the traditional hub of
Providenciales.
Several other countries in the region have
announced similar pushes to court medical
tourists, most notably Jamaica, caribjournal.
com informed. •
8ttc
within the region “as evidence that the Caribbean’s tourism industry is
showing signs of progress.”
An estimated 1.5 million Latin American tourists visited the Caribbean
last year, up 13% over 2012 and 70% higher than the 859,000 reported visitors in 2009.
Meanwhile, travel among Caribbean destinations grew by 2.1% in 2013,
with an estimated 1.6 million Caribbean people travelling for touristic purposes.
In terms of the issuing countries, the report specifies that the U.S. market continued its recovery, with arrivals up nearly three per cent. Meanwhile, Canada was flat with a marginal rise of 0.7%, the lowest year-overyear growth in this market since 1997.
The number of tourists from the United Kingdom was down to under a
million visitors –a 1.4% drop– and from Europe an overall down of 3.75%.
On the other hand, cruise passenger visits were up 2.7% to 21.8 million
passengers.
Notwithstanding the ups and downs of 2013, the CTO forecasts a better
evolution for the Caribbean in 2014, when it expects an increase in tourist
arrivals of between 2 and 3%. •
Aruba 2014 Calendar of
Tourism Events
The Aruba 2014 calendar of Tourism events is revealing a series of dates that provide an appealing
mix of entertainment and activities, giving visitors a host of diversions from sun, sea and sand.
The calendar published by the Aruba Tourism
Authority shows crucial dates for the Carnival season that is already underway in Aruba, with the
spectacular event celebrating its 60th anniversary.
It reaches its explosive finale on March 2 with
the Grand Carnival Parade through the streets
of the capital, Oranjestad, with pulsating music,
amazing floats and colorful original costumes, decorated with sparkling stones, sequins and feathers.
More celebrities will hit the island in July for
the Aruba International Film Festival. Actors,
producers and directors will be at red carpet
premieres and screenings of an eclectic collection of international and Caribbean films.
Aruba’s prevailing trade winds provide the
perfect conditions for the Caribbean’s largest
amateur windsurfing event, the 28th Annual
Aruba Hi-Winds, from July 3 to 7. Staying on the
water, yachtsmen head to Aruba from August 15
to 17 for the Aruba Regatta.
Music returns in a big way in September for
the two-day Electronic Music Festival 2014, with
world-renowned DJs hitting the stage. More
genteel is the Aruba Food, Wine Art Festival,
scheduled for September 12 to 13, showcasing
the island’s culinary best.
Visitors are encouraged to help with the
Aruban environment in September with the
21st Annual Reef Care Project, where more than
800 volunteers, including holidaymakers, help
clean diving and snorkeling sites, as well as raising awareness of marine ecology. •

10. news
Travel Trade Caribbean • Year XIV • No. 227 • March 2014
FITCuba Returns
to Morro-Cabaña
C
uba’s International Tourism Fair, to be held May 6-10, 2014, is again
taking up its venue in the Morro-Cabaña Park. This 34th edition will
be dedicated to Havana as a destination and to the Circuits product,
and France will be the guest country.
Its main goals are to show to the different people attending the event
the principal attractions and attributes of Cuba, fundamentally its historic-cultural heritage, as well as its facilities as a Circuits destination.
Havana, the country’s principal cultural hub, is visited by half of the vacationers traveling every year to Cuba. Its Historic Center, together with
the system of colonial fortresses, was the country’s first to be declared
by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. These and many other reasons validate
FITCuba 2014’s being dedicated to this city.
For Circuits tourism the largest of the Caribbean islands has exceptional characteristics, as well as an adequate infrastructure. Its geography of a
narrow and long island, a well-distributed network of airports and marinas,
the existence of sites of natural and historic interest throughout the country
and the relative proximity between them makes it possible to combine, in
a single stay, different modalities that coexist in all its tourist destinations.
Starting the winter of 2014-15, British Airways will offer for the first
time non-stop flights between
London and Punta Cana, with a
twice weekly frequency.
Since 2009 British Airways had
been offering this route from the
London Gatwick Airport with a
stop in Antigua. Now, in response
to the British market’s growing
demand for sun and beach during
the winter, the airline has decided
to start this direct connection.
In 2013, the Dominican airports
registered the arrival of 108,236
British tourists, 10.12% more than
the previous year; 67% of them
landed in Punta Cana and 22.7% in
Puerto Plata.
United Airlines announced
plans to operate flights between
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Choosing France as the Fair’s guest country has been a very relevant
decision. This country for decades has been one of the principal issuing
markets for Cuba and has left its imprint in the cities, crops, history, art and
culture of this island. French Minister of Tourism Sylvia Pinel, in statements
to Prensa Latina news agency, announced that she will travel in May to the
Cuban capital to represent her government at the fair.
FITCuba 2014 is taking place precisely when the first seven Cuban townships are celebrating the 500th anniversary of their foundation –Nuestra
Señora de Asunción de Baracoa (1511); San Salvador de Bayamo (1513); Santísima Trinidad (today Trinidad), Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe (currently Camagüey) and Sancti Spíritus, in 1514; Santiago de Cuba (1515); and
San Cristóbal de La Habana, in 1519–, events that in themselves constitute
a tourist attraction par excellence. •
New Flights to
Dominican Republic
Punta Cana Airport.
the hub of the Liberty International Airport, in New York, and
the city of Santiago, Dominican
Republic, starting the summer
of 2014, which is subject to government approval. United’s plans
point to introducing a daily service
on the route.
United Airlines currently flies
from New York-Newark to Santo
Domingo, Punta Cana and Puerto
Plata and, during season operations, from Chicago and Washington DC to Punta Cana.
In 2013, U.S. tourists registered
in the Dominican airports were the
most numerous foreign visitors:
1,587,404, an increase of 8.97% as
compared to 2012; 59.6% landed in
Punta Cana and 22.6% in Las Americas Airport (Santo Domingo).
Copa Airlines Colombia also
announced its first direct flight
to the Dominican Republic. It will
have a frequency of four weekly
flights, making it possible to transport 30,000 new travelers every
year. The first aircraft will land in
Punta Cana on the second week of
April. Copa Airlines’ future plans
include taking the flights to a daily
frequency.
In 2013, 48,174 Colombian tourists
arrived in the Dominican airports,
3.96% less than in 2012; 50.8% landed in Punta Cana and 45.3% in Las
Americas Airport (Santo Domingo). •

12. caribbean
Travel Trade Caribbean • Year XIV • No. 227 • March 2014
20 Years with Islazul
T
he Islazul Hotel Group is celebrating this 2014 its 20 years of
work, experience and results,
a period in which its offer has been
in constant evolution.
Initially designed for national tourism, its origins date back to
1994. In 2009 it became a public
corporation and expanded its services for international tourism.
Its current portfolio includes
more than 10,000 rooms throughout
the Cuban archipelago. Hotel and
non-hotel installations designed
with the firm purpose of pleasing
the most demanding tastes.
Islazul offers a personalized service endorsed by its quality. Its offer’s
link to Cuban culture and idiosyncrasy characterize and distinguish it.
Islazul’s presence throughout
the island is very attractive for tour
operators, travel agencies and air-
lines, precisely because of the possibility of organizing travel offers
combined with diverse modalities
of tourism: city, nature and sun and
beach.
A network of sales outlets distributed throughout the country,
in addition to the web portal islazul.cu enable making reservations
in real time: All this makes Islazul
a unique product, given the extension of its catalogue, and this
group’s having notably increased
the number of clients. In this way
it has met the goals set out in favor
of the country’s economy in a sustained and growing manner. •
British Airways to
Expand Services to
Antigua and Barbuda
The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority
announced the demand for the destination in
the United Kingdom market continues recovering, and to respond to this British Airways will
expand its services to the Vere C. Bird International Airport.
With three new flights that will be added
to the current seven weekly ones, Antigua and
Barbuda will increase 10% the flight capacity
from the United Kingdom. •
New Hotel Developments in Jamaica
In pursuit of the diversification of its product
to maintain competitiveness, Jamaica’s hotel
industry has opened in recent months several new and renovated hotels, with more than
2,000 rooms, and others are in the process of
doing so.
The Caribbean destination has welcomed
some renowned brands, among them Blue Diamond, Hyatt, Karisma, Marriott, Meliá Hotels International and Riu Palace, as part of its strategy
to offer a first-class product.
Ocho Rios, Montego Bay, Negril and Kingston have been especially favored by these developments. •
New Air Connections
in the Caribbean
Southwest to Fly to the Caribbean
More Flights from Europe
to La Romana
La Romana Casa de Campo International Airport will receive, starting next April, four of the
daily flights Air Europa currently operates from
the Madrdid-Barajas Airport to Punta Cana, and
which it will move to that La Romana terminal.
Meanwhile, Air France will start operating
flights for the first time to La Romana, while it continues flying to Santo Domingo and Punta Cana,
where it will add a new flight in the summer.
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Avianca Has Plans to Resume
Bogotá-London Route
Avianca has plans to resume starting July
its operations on the Bogotá-London direct
route. The preliminary itinerary comprises the
regular operation of four weekly flights between the two capitals, leaving from Bogotá
El Dorado International Airport on Monday,
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, returning from
London’s Heathrow on Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The U.S. Southwest Airlines will operate new
routes connecting the Caribbean destinations
of Aruba, Montego Bay and Nassau with the
U.S. cities of Baltimore, Washington and Orlando. After its first incursions in the Caribbean,
Southwest will continue flying to other international destinations in Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
Copa to Increase
Frequencies to Brazil
Copa Airlines will increase its frequencies
from Panama to the cities of Rio de Janeiro and
Sao Paulo between June and July, coinciding
with the World Football Cup.

13. Travel Trade Caribbean • Year XIV • No. 227 • March 2014
mexican caribbean
Mexican
Caribbean Ready
for 2014 Tourist
Street Market
Mexico’s 2014 Tourist Street Market will take place in Quintana Roo
with a program that will be carried
out between next May 3 and 11.
Although the Tourist Street
Market will specifically be held
from May 6 to 9, a program of activities from May 3 to 11 has been
designed for travel agents, airlines
and tour operators in destinations
like Bacalar, Cancun, Chetumal,
Cozumel, Holbox, Isla Mujeres,
Mahahual, Puerto Morelos, the
Riviera Maya and Tulum.
According to the newspaper
Excelsior, the event will be inaugurated by President Enrique Peña Nieto. The local authorities predict that
the 2014 edition will break all the
previous records. The Cozumel Convention Center will be inaugurated
in the framework of the activities. •
Mexico Received
Close to 12 Million
Tourists by Air in 2013
The arrival of international visitors to Mexico by air registered a 9% growth
in 2013 with respect to 2012, when it reached 11,774,000 foreign visitors,
according to figures provided by the Integral System of Migration Operations (SIOM), of the National Migration Institute, the Secretariat of Tourism
(SECTUR) reported.
The United States continues being the most important market in terms
of air arrivals, with almost 6.5 million visitors (+9%). Meanwhile, arrivals
from Canada saw a 1.8% increase as compared to 2012. Visits from Colombia increased 60.4%; Russia, 39.9%; Peru, 39%; China, 26.6%; Korea, 24.4%;
Sweden, 17.1%; United Kingdom, 14%; and Japan, 13.5%. •
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14. events
Travel Trade Caribbean • Year XIV • No. 227 • March 2014
CHTA to Organize Hospitality
and Tourism Conference
T
he Caribbean Hotel Tourism Association (CHTA) will organize its first
hospitality and tourism conference since 2007, under the banner of
the Caribbean Hospitality Industry Education Forum (CHIEF).
CHIEF will provide a crucial opportunity for hoteliers, CHTA Executives,
hospitality product and service providers as well as industry experts to
network, brainstorm and learn how to be a successful part of the future in
the Caribbean tourism industry.
According to Richard Doumeng, president of CHTA, “the time is right to
have a forum that brings together hoteliers and our allied members. It will
be an educational and sales setting with a strong focus on the use of technology to improve revenue, yield and efficiency.”
CHIEF will consist of an education forum and a trade show. Subjects to
be covered will include an overview of trends in technology, marketing
and operations. Speakers from both within the Caribbean as well as those
from other areas of the world will share best practices on running more
efficient cost saving operations and new marketing trends that work in today’s competitive global marketplace.
A new trade show component will enable the growing allied interests
to provide a one-stop venue for hoteliers to see the latest products, gadgets, green technology tools and services that have become available.
The CHTA represents all the hotel industry facets with more than
600 member hotels and more than 300 allied members. •
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16. news
Travel Trade Caribbean • Year XIV • No. 227 • March 2014
More Hotel
Rooms Under
Construction in
the Americas
Visa Exemption
between
Bahamas and
China
WTO
Recognizes
Dominican
President
Conviasa
Expands
Through
Caribbean
The pace of construction of hotel
rooms has increased in the different sub regions of the Americas. A recent report published by
STR refers to the case of the Mexico-Caribbean area, which in January 2014 had 160 hotels with 26,557
rooms being developed, with 30%
more rooms and 15.4% more under construction with respect to a
year before.
By hotel segments, in Mexico-Caribbean the higher category showed the greatest increase
in terms of rooms, with +114.5%
with respect to January 2013, up to
3,366. It was followed by the midscale segment (+84%, with 1,949
rooms) and the upper midscale
(+50.9%, 4,918). The luxury sector
showed a year-on-year decline of
6% in the number of rooms, up to
6,520 rooms.
In the figure of units under
construction, the upper midscale
segment registered last January
a growth of 114.1% as compared
to January 2013, reaching the 2,124
rooms, with which it was at the
head among all the categories.
Meanwhile, the upper upscale
segment appeared with +64% and
946 rooms, and the upscale with
+32.4% and 1,909 rooms. In comparison, the midscale segment
showed a year-on-year decline of
42.1% in the number of rooms under construction, with 449. •
The mutual visa exemption agreement between Bahamas and China, signed in December 2013, is
already in force and allows reciprocal visits by citizens from both
countries without the need for
travel visas for up to 30 days.
In a communiqué, the government of Bahamas explained that
“although this agreement allows
for traveling without the need of
visas, visitors have to comply with
a series of requirements to enter
when being processed by the immigration authorities.”
Travelers must present a passport with valid visas for transit
states, and a round-trip airfare;
those with intentions of remaining more than a month in Bahamas will need a visa. •
Dominican Republic President
Danilo Medina was personally
given by the secretary general of
the World Tourism Organization
(WTO), Taleb Rifai, the “Open Letter of Recognition for Tourism,” a
special distinction that recognizes
the country’s tourist leadership in
the Caribbean region and the contributions of the current Dominican government to that industry.
Rifai, who is making an official visit to the country for the
first time, during the ceremony to
hand over the Letter assessed the
contributions of the government
of President Danilo Medina to turn
the Dominican Republic into a
unique and outstanding destination of the region.
The Letter is also known as
“Golden Book” of the campaign
World Tourism Leaders, whose
aim is to position that sector as
an effective driving force for economic growth and development,
placing it among the priorities of
the world and regional agenda.
The handing over of the recognition took place during the
inauguration of the WTO international seminar “Management
of Tourist Destinations of Cultural
Heritage.” •
The Venezuelan Consortium of
Aeronautic Industries and Air Services (Conviasa) state airline has
plans to open routes to Caribbean
countries like Suriname, Dominican Republic and other islands in
the region.
The company’s president, Luis
Graterol Caraballo, said that the
initiative forms part of the 20142018 expansion plans and explained that together with the
Ministry of Maritime and Air Transportation the technical and commercial feasibility for the opening
of additional routes to the Petrocaribe member nations is being analyzed, after seven new Embraer
190s and two Airbus 330-200s are
incorporated this year.
Conviasa plans to open in the
first quarter of 2014 nine national and seven international routes
to reach a total of 50 destinations.
In 2013, the company transported
more than 1.5 million persons and
this year expects to carry some 2.7
million passengers. •
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Mr. Danilo Medina, President of the
Dominican Republic.
▶

18. events
Travel Trade Caribbean • Year XIV • No. 227 • March 2014
DATE 2014,
March 26-28
Curacao Heads Cruise
Tourism Growth in
Caribbean
Punta Cana will be hosting the event this year.
The 15th Dominican Annual Tourism Exchange
(DATE 2014), the most important international fair of the Dominican tourist sector, will take
place March 26-28, 2014 at the Convention Center of the Paradisus Palma Real Hotel in Punta
Cana.
DATE is an annual event organized by the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic (ASONAHORES) and sponsored by
the Ministry of Tourism. Hundreds of international tour operators and travel agencies (mainly from the United States, Canada, Europe and
South America) will participate to define their
business deals with the hotels and other providers of tourist services in the Dominican Republic. The fair has an advanced system of pre-es-
18ttc
tablished meetings created for carrying out
commercial negotiations.
Different media, the local and international press come together to cover the three
days of contracting that take place at DATE
and the social activities held in the framework
of this event, which will have the presence of
high-ranking figures of the tourist sector.
According to ASONAHORES, the 2013 edition
of DATE registered 15% more business meetings
than the previous year (more than 4,000 meetings). It was attended by 120 companies with 209
delegates from the buying tourist companies as
well as 130 exhibitors with 462 representatives. •
www.asonahores.com
www.drdate.net
The largest year-on-year increase in the
number of cruise passengers in the Caribbean region in 2013 was achieved by Curacao,
according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).
The so-called Dutch Caribbean island
received 610,186 passengers in 2013, representing a 41.4% growth with respect to
2012, followed by Aruba, which was the second destination in terms of growth, with
+25.4%.
Curacao’s record increase takes place in
a year in which, according to CTO figures,
the cruise sector had mixed performances in
the region, with several countries that registered two-digit increases and 10 that registered negative growth.
In general, the Caribbean saw an increase
of 2.7% in cruise passenger arrivals with respect to 2012, with some 21.9 million passenger visits to the region’s ports, which continues being the world leader in that industry. •