HAVANA, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Cuba's tourism industry has been rapidly expanding with the goal of receiving 5.1 million foreign visitors this year and consolidating its position as the island's top economic sector, which in 2018 contributed 3.3 billion U.S. dollars to the economy.
To complete this ambitious goal, HostelCuba, the only professional tourism fair on the island, has kicked off. Created three years ago, the fair is an official platform for providers from all over the world to enter the Cuban market, specifically those which are related to hotels, restaurants and tourist services.
"This is the first time we participate in this event and we've successfully contacted different Cuban importing companies. We will begin the procedures to register as a supplier for different hotel chains on the island," Fernando Vainberg, president of Argentine company Volf, told Xinhua.
Volf was founded in 1927 by Vainberg's grandfather and is in charge of supplying to hotels and restaurants tableware, porcelain, cutlery, glassware and other necessary elements for dining.
Although a few years ago, he established business contacts with Cuban counterparts, the target of the Argentine firm is to make business deals in the medium and long term with Cuban companies that give preference to Volf.
"We provide a different offer from the companies in the Cuban market, we will compete with big brands and companies from all over the world, but we have confidence in the quality of our products and the success we've achieved in other countries," said Vainberg.
One of those brands established for almost three decades in the Caribbean nation is Spain's Joenfa, manufacturer of different types of furniture that has attended HostelCuba every year since 2016.
Ramiro Camarasa, Joenfa's exports manager, said the company's goal is to take advantage of the fair to present new catalogs and collections to its users in Cuba.
His company has achieved great success, Camarasa said, signing over 50 contacts on the very first day of the fair.
"We show our Cuban counterparts and joint ventures the technological evolution of the furniture we're now making and how it could adapt to the particular needs of clients," he said.
Currently, Joenfa has commercial links with large hotel chains in Cuba like Melia and Iberostar, to which it sells finished products. It also exports raw materials such as rattan to the island country.
Another goal of HostelCuba 2019 is to promote productive and commercial alliances between local companies and foreign counterparts in order to increase the quality of the nation's tourism industry.
According to Yaimara Trista, logistics director of Cuba's Ministry of Tourism, the previous editions of the commercial fair aimed to introduce new products to the Cuban market, which have an edge over local ones in terms of technology, innovation and comfort.
"It is an unique opportunity for the entire hotel and tourism sector to have new offers and even to link them with the national industry itself, which is another goal that we envision," she told Xinhua.
Trista said that in 2016, when the first edition of HostelCuba took place, 50 companies from 9 countries participated and only three years later the number rose to 120 exhibitors from 17 nations.
"It shows the fair's rapid growth and wide acceptance. Nearly 80 percent of the companies repeat in each edition, which confirms the enormous potential the industry has," she said.
Another purpose of the fair is to develop the island into a destination for holding events, meetings and other activities, Trista added.
"It would be an opportunity to provide another type of product, in addition to the sun and the beach, Cuba could become a business and event hub in the Caribbean," she said.
At the HostelCuba 2019, 90 percent of the exhibitors are international manufacturers or distributors of hotel and tourism services.
The event, which concluded Thursday, included an investment forum, training workshops and conferences, where Cuban officials presented major government policies in the sector, as well as foreign investment opportunities.
