China was the featured guest country at the recently concluded International Tourism Fair of Cuba, or FITCuba 2025, a major event that brought together tourism professionals, travel agencies, hotel chains, and tour operators from around the world.
The 43th edition of the fair, which ran from Wednesday to Saturday, aimed to attract more international visitors to Cuba to help stimulate its economy. Organizers are optimistic that China will play a pivotal role in this effort.
Wednesday's opening ceremony was attended by Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, along with other high-ranking government officials, hundreds of tourism experts, representatives from hotel chains and tour operators, and a large delegation from China.
Rao Quan, China's vice minister of culture and tourism and head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, expressed his gratitude for the honor of visiting Cuba and emphasized his eagerness to strengthen cooperation in the tourism sector between the two countries.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Cuba's Minister of Tourism Juan Carlos Garcia Granda highlighted the growing importance of the Chinese market for Cuba.
"For Cuba, the Chinese market is very important, not only for Cuba but for most countries around the world," said García Granda. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, and Chinese Ambassador Hua Xin toured the Chinese pavilion on Friday.
According to statistics, in the past three years, visitors from China have increased from about 8,000 in 2022 to nearly 27,000 last year. More tourists are expected thanks to new Cuban initiatives and incentives.
Chinese travel agents anticipate a growing number of Chinese visitors to Cuba.
"Air China has resumed two weekly flights to Cuba since last year, as more Chinese are coming to Cuba, in addition to the recent adoption by Cuba of a visa-exemption policy for Chinese citizens. Those were two (bits) of very good news," said Terry Jing, a staffer of Bellotour Travel Agency.
The China-Cuba International Tourism Development is a new joint venture created to help pave the way for more Chinese to visit Cuba.
"We've set up a tourist information office in Havana to assist Chinese visitors in their stay here, and we have launched an app in China to facilitate hotel reservations and other services in Cuba," said Chen Yang, director of the China-Cuba International Tourism Development.
Cuba hopes to welcome about 2.5 million international travelers this year, from places like Canada, Europe and China, aiming to bring a much-needed boost to the country's economy.
China featured guest at International Tourism Fair of Cuba
