Cuba tourism continues post-Gustav, Ike; most airports & resorts operating as usual, says Cuban Tourism Ministry
Charmaine Pang

Varadero

This morning, the Cuba Tourist Board reports that flights to and from the destination are continuing to arrive in full, and that its major tourist destinations are operating as usual.

Sources from the Cuban Tourism Ministry confirmed that there are about 30,000 tourists in the country at present, at various locations on the island.

For example, tourist flights to and from Europe continued to arrive late this week. A flight from UK-based Thomas Cook landed on the island on Wednesday, with vacationers going to Cayo Guillermo and Cayo Coco on the northern coast.

Other flights entering Cuba were scheduled for Thursday, with travellers headed to Varadero for their holidays. Cienfuegos, located in central Cuba, and Manzanillo in the east are also expecting inbound flights, while other arrivals went to Holguin on Thursday.
Cayo Largo del Sur reopens

After several days of inactivity due to the passage of Hurricane Gustav, the destination of Cayo Largo del Sur will reopen its facilities, following the arrival of vacationers from the UK.

Cuban Tourism Ministry sources in the area said that prior to the passage of Gustav, 105 tourists were transferred to resorts in Santiago de Cuba where they continued their vacations in similar-category resorts.

Business as usual

Tourism continues as usual in Jardines del Rey

Tourist resorts located in Varadero, Jardines del  Rey, and in the provinces of Havana, Villa Clara, Cienfuegos, Santiago  de Cuba and Granma are continuing as usual, including airport services.

In Holguin, located on the eastern side of the island and centrally located Trinidad, debris remaining from Hurricane Ike is being cleaned, although facilities and airports continue to operate as usual. In western Pinar del Rio province and in Santa Lucia, facilities will soon resume operations.

At present, the Cuban Tourism Ministry has created a task force of high-ranking tourism officials to assess the quality of tourist services in the country, supervise cleanup and repairs inflicted by the recent events of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.