Business & Economy

A Cuban government technical commission headed by Minister of Informatics and Communication Ramiro Valdes will provide advice to Venezuela to face the energy crisis the South American nation is going through. Cuba experienced similar situations that weighed down its economy in the early 1990s and later in 2004.

In 2009 emigrants were the second most important source of tourists for Cuba, with the arrival of 296,000 persons born in the country but residing abroad. Canada continues being the most important tourist market for Cuba, with more than 914,000 visitors, followed by Great Britain and Spain.

A ledger book currency called the SUCRE took effect Wednesday among the countries belonging to the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) and has a value of US $1.25, announced Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Travel related businesses from the US will meet March 24-26 in Cancun, Mexico with Cuban tourism ministry officials to plot a hypothetical situation where the US government rescinds its travel ban to the Caribbean nation.

The Tourism Office and the Cuban embassy in France will participate in the Dijon International Fair, dedicated this year to the island, to be held January 29-31, announced Gilberto López, representative of the Ministry of Tourism. The Caribbean country will also be the guest of honour at the Alencon Fair in Normandy, February 24-March 1.

The huge Houston Port Authority has added a weekly shipping line to Cuba in a move that could bring considerable business if the US embargo on the Caribbean island is ever dropped.

Canadian airlines will be granted access to fly between multiple domestic locations within Cuba announced The Canadian Press on Friday. Canada provides Cuba with over 40 percent of its overall tourists. Cuba’s ambassador to Canada, De JesDus Vicente Sotolongo, told The Press that the measure would apply to four Canadian charter airlines that currently run tours to Cuba: Air Transat, Sunwing Airlines, WestJet and Canjet Airlines.

Cuba will promote its tourist offerings including the opening of new hotels during the upcoming IMEX trade show that takes place in Frankfurt, Germany from May 25-27, 2010. Since the fall of the Socialist Camp back in the early 1990s, Cuba has turned to its vast tourism potential as a key pillar to recover its economy.

A total of 44 sugar factories should start operating in January as part of the 2009-2010 sugar harvest, which the authorities have previewed as modest since it is expected to produce 1.5 million tons.