Bogotá, Apr 10 (Prensa Latina) Interest in Cuba is growing in Latin America, not only as a vacation destination but also for other offers associated with health tourism and event and incentive programs, the tourism counselor at the Cuban embassy in Colombia, Ivis Fernández, told Prensa Latina.

The expert stated that Peru is one of the South American markets they work with, and although there has been progress regarding the growth of trips to Cuba, it still has many potentialities. She highlighted that Peru exhibits an advantage by having direct Lima-Havana flights, with an increase of up to five weekly flights on planes carrying more than 180 passengers.

The diplomat said that Cuba’s upcoming participation in the 6th International Tourism Fair of Colombia will make it easier for Cuba to continue positioning itself in that market and achieve greater growth. “This is a good opportunity because all the country’s tourism professionals meet there, and we are going to have a presentation of the destination to the entire wholesale tour operation, where there will also be the presence of the specialized and non-specialized press until April 12TH”, she highlighted.

Fernández pointed out that Brazil occupies the largest number of seats on the direct Lima-Havana flights. “We also have the challenge of connecting São Paulo via the Boa line, which is flying from Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia; and it has already been announced that the Gol airline will begin to fly from Brazil to Colombia, from where Avianca will begin to operate on daily flights to Cuba at the end of the first semester”, which will allow Brazilians to reach Cuba more easily thanks to Avianca’s daily flights, which are added to the Wingo company’s direct flights from Bogotá to Havana five times a week.

Fernández will participate in the largest tourism fair in Brazil, which will take place in São Paulo between April 15th and 17th. During the event, more than 12 nations have expressed interest in conducting business with Cuba, whose delegation will ease the promotion of these negotiations.

“In the context of this fair, we also have a presentation of the destination in one of its rooms, and the places, which are limited by the number of seats, are filled, and we continue to have demand. The level of demands towards Cuba has been growing from these markets,” the official emphasized.

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Havana, Apr 10 (Prensa Latina) Cuba believes in dialogue as a way to overcome the diplomatic crisis caused by the unacceptable assault on the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador, President Miguel Díaz-Canel stated on Wednesday.

On his X account, the head of State noted, “We believe in the force of Law and not in the right to force,” expressed by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez at the ministerial meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

On Tuesday, the head of Cuban diplomacy proposed to CELAC to issue an urgent statement to condemn the violation perpetrated by Ecuador against the Mexican Embassy in Quito and the aggression against its diplomatic staff.

Rodríguez called on the regional bloc to react with a firm and united voice in the face of these unacceptable events, which impact the entire community.

According to the Cuban foreign minister, the statement should urge the Government of Ecuador to comply strictly with its international obligations and act in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Rodríguez proposed to Honduras, in his capacity as president pro tempore of CELAC, that the document should call on the parties concerned to use dialogue or any other resource within International Law to resolve their differences.

The statement must also endorse the validity of the postulates of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace and the commitment by all the States of our region to its strict observance.

The foreign minister reiterated Cuba’s solidarity with and support for Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and all his people in the face of the unacceptable violation and abuse of Mexico’s Embassy in Quito.

“Mexico can and will always count on our willingness and will to accompany it in the actions it undertakes in the face of this serious transgression,” Rodríguez stressed.

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Havana, Apr 8 (Prensa Latina) Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said on Monday that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is the largest military emitter of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) in the planet.

On his official X account, he noted that the alliance’s goal of increasing military spending to two percent of its members’ GDP is a serious threat to global efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change.

Recently, the head of Cuban diplomacy stated on the same social network that NATO’s military carbon footprint went from 196 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (C02) in 2021 to 226 million in 2023.

Those numbers exceed the GHG emissions of 80 percent of the countries of the world, he pointed out.

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Moscow, Apr 8 (Prensa Latina) Cuba is ready for receiving at least 200,000 Russian tourists this year, the Tourism Counselor of the Cuban Embassy to Russia, Cristina Leon, said on Monday.

According to the diplomat, from January 1 to March 31, 2024, the tourist flow of Russians to Cuba was 66,887 citizens, which she considered a record figure, since in the same term of 2023 the country welcomed 32,224 people, the website Tourbus.ru published on Monday.

To skyrocket tourist traffic, Cuban authorities are negotiating to increase the number of flights from the Russian Federation and attract investors and hotel companies from Russia to the country’s hotel sector, Leon uttered.

At present, there are direct flights from Russia to Havana, Varadero and Cayo Coco, in Cuba, with an almost maximum occupancy factor of 94%.

In 2019, before the pandemic, there were 18 weekly flights from Russia to Cuba. And now the authorities want to expand the geography of departures, exceeding the figure up to 20 weekly flights,” the Cuban official concluded.

It should be recalled that Cuba received 185,000 Russian tourists in 2023. This upturn is grounded in the activity of tour operators, mainly Pegas Touristik, which along with Nordwind airline pursues flight programs from Moscow to the popular resorts of Varadero and Cayo Coco.

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Havana, Apr 9 (Prensa Latina) Students and professors of the Higher Institute of Design (ISDi) at the University of Havana are holding in this capital on Tuesday a collective exhibition with posters in support of Palestine, the educational institution informed.

In a note via e-mail to Prensa Latina, ISDi stated that the posters, which carry a visual graphic message, show the solidarity of this group, representing the Cuban people, identified with the cause of the Palestinian people in their struggle to recover their territory, peace, and freedom.

The exhibition will be opened to the audience at the art center “Habana Espacios Creativos”, located at Teniente Rey and “Habana” streets, in Old Havana municipality, this Tuesday afternoon.

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