JAMAICAN travel agents are now on an eight-day familiarisation (fam) trip in Cuba aimed at increasing visitor traffic to that Spanish-speaking Caribbean island.

The July 17-24 fam trip, arranged by Caribbean and Latin Travel Consultant Limited — a Jamaican company that specialises in facilitating leisure and business travel in the region — will see the group, comprising representatives from 10 local travel agencies, experiencing Cuba’s tourism product, cuisine, and entertainment. They will also visit some of the country’s historic sites in the capital Havana, Viñales, and Varadero.

According to Caribbean and Latin Travel General Manager Yeni Larrahando, many Jamaicans do not know what their northern neighbour has to offer.

“We noticed that when travel agencies get the customers, they might not have the information to explain what the destination has. Sometimes passengers call us asking for information about what they are getting. This trip is for them to be aware so it will be easy for them to explain to the customer what they will get when they arrive in Cuba. If a passenger requests a city tour, they will be able to explain what a city tour will include. They’ll be able to say what is in New Havana and what they will find in Old Havana, et cetera,” Colombian-born Larrahando told the Jamaica Observer.

Classic cars line a section of Havana, Cuba. (Photo: Anika Richards)

“We noticed that we need to do more local marketing in Jamaica. When I go on the road and meet people, they say it would be nice to go to Cuba; afterwards, we would get calls from the people who want to visit the destination. We feel that we need to do more marketing to show what we have in Cuba for people to enjoy,” added Larrahando.

Pointing out that travelling to Cuba is an easy process, Larrahando said, “You need an electronic tourist card visa. Anybody in Jamaica anywhere can get it from our website, which is www.caribbeanlatintravel.com. You go to the site, click visa to Cuba, do the request, pay and you get your visa immediately. Your passport is not stamped when you arrive in Cuba,” Larrahando said.

“We sell packages including the flights, transportation in and out of the airport to the hotel and back to the airport, hotel accommodation for four star hotels and up. The tourist card visa is a requirement, and we include health insurance just in case you need health services while you are in the country,” Larrahando added.

Included in the fam trip is a visit to the Cuban Medical Services Unit.

“We will get information from the tourism medical health team to show us what medical facilities and services they have for Jamaicans. Sometimes we find that patients can’t find facilities in Jamaica for their health problems so they will show us a presentation of what they have so Jamaicans can come for medical care,” Larrahando told the Sunday Observer.

One of the hotels visited by the group on Friday was Memories Miramar Havana. General Manager Toni Schärer Sard told the
Sunday Observer he and his team offer “an extremely good product in terms of value for money”.

He said Memories Miramar was built as a four-star hotel, with five-star quality.

“We have a very good food and beverage offer. This hotel, when it was built, was built as a four-star hotel — but at that time in Cuba there were no five-star hotels. There was no possibility of five-star hotels because of the system at the time; luxury was not the priority or the image you wanted to give. It was built in five-star standard and we still keep it. We have very big common areas. We have very big rooms with extremely nice comfort,” he said.

At the 514-room Grand Muthu Hotel in Havana, Guest Relations Officer Ana Teresa lamented that not many Jamaicans come to the hotel, and expressed a desire for that to change.

“I am inviting our Jamaican friends to come here and get to know the history and heart of the Cuban people, and to see how we work and how we live. We have many beaches and we have a lot of history, so come,” she appealed.

Other hotels visited by the group on Friday were Hotel Presidente, Hotel Vedado, NH Capri Complex – Victoria, and Hotel Deauville.