CubaPLUS Magazine

The most important Cuban resort, Varadero, appears today in the headlines of the tourism-specialized press, not only in the Caribbean, but in much of the world.

This news is not for nothing, because this beach resort was recently selected as the venue for the 40th International Tourism Fair of Cuba (FITCuba 2020) scheduled for May of next year. Hence the satisfaction of the tourism delegate of Matanzas province and the resort itself, Ibis Fernández, who expressed his commitment to the event, which will be dedicated to Russia, and to the theme of Sun and Beach.

It truly is a wonderful beach, located about 140 kilometers east of Havana, the capital of the island.

Fernandez told CubaPlus that the western Cuban province of Matanzas is privileged by its assets, because in addition to Varadero it has the Slave Route, the Yurumí Valley and the Zapata Swamp, among other sites of great interest. In total, the province has 60 hotels (22 217 rooms) in addition to 1,428 rooms in private accommodation. Of that accommodation stock, 48% is 5 star category, 38% 4 star and 14% 3 star.

97% of these hotels are All Inclusive. Tourism in the province has grown 5% a year since 1990. Matanzas received has received 1.5 million foreign tourists in the last two years, and 11 prestigious foreign hotel chains manage 83% of the total number of rooms mentioned.

The main markets for the province are Canada, Germany, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Italy, Spain and Chile, and the greatest growth is shown by Russia.

It has an international airport, two international marinas, a convention center, an international clinic, a hemodialysis center, a wellness center, galleries, handicraft squares, a dance academy, over 40 restaurants and 12 nightclubs, among others.

Varadero in particular, was mentioned by TripAdvisor website as the second best beach in the world, with 52 hotels (21 550 rooms), and aims to be the first best on the planet by 2020, with an improvement program.

A new version of the International Hotel of Varadero recently opened, based on one of the same name that existed since the 50s of the last century, but it was very close to the sea and affected the sand dunes of the beach.

The new hotel, operated by Melí Hotels International (Spain) has 946 rooms on 11 floors. More than 50% of its rooms have an ocean view, with two penthouse suites, gastronomic boulevard and a 1,300 square meter meeting room.

Hence, Varadero is the epicenter of Matanzas in terms of tourism, and of all of Cuba in terms of recreation and beach destination.