Havana to double tourist accommodations by 2030

By Neysi Hernández


HAVANA, Cuba

Havana plans to double its accommodations for tourist by 2030, officials said Thursday.

Warming relations between Havana and Washington is helping to fuel interest in the island that received nearly 2 million visitors in 2015 -- a 21 percent increase from the previous year. And during the first quarter of 2016, 37 percent more tourists visited the city compared to the same time a year ago.

Sonia Beltran, the top representative for tourism in Havana, said the country’s capital currently has 11,309 rooms available in hotels, villages and houses. But that figure represents just 20 percent of total capacity on the island.

There are more than 1,900 homes and 4,700
 private rooms in the hands of Cuban families, she said.

"Havana has insufficient accommodation capacity, it is urgent to
increase the number of rooms and capacity," she said."[We] have recovered 1,400 rooms, and now restored some hotels," she added.

The need to service more foreign visitors includes plans for the recovery of
different installations to foster accommodations in private houses
and a rigorous process to restore hotels to higher standards.

By winter, Havana will have 1,400
 convalescent and remodeled rooms, especially in city hotels, according to Beltran.

The announcement was made during the a tourism fair in which more than 2,000 representatives from 53 countries participated.