International Tourism Fair Cuba 2023 and the challenges of Heritage (Part I of II)

Of pirates and pachangas

Jacques de Sores. Francis Drake. Henry Morgan. The mention of any of these names caused more alert than a cyclone in the Antillean towns.

France and Great Britain shamelessly granted letters of marque. Spain reiterated with a divine spear its authority in the New World. The Netherlands perfected the art of stealth in smuggling.

Rival ships were intercepted, betrayals consummated, pardons granted, ransoms came and went, ferocious men and women cast promises of revenge, feverish with scurvy and viciousness.

It was the times of looting and myth. To protect fleets and areas of major commercial importance from raids by filibusters and rival powers, the Spanish crown erected castles and fortresses in its Caribbean domains.

Of these enclaves, the Bay of Havana stood out, a bulwark and key to the New World, a port of call for the ships that transported the wealth and supplies extracted from the colonies to the other side of the Atlantic.

Located on the eastern side of the cove, the castle of the Tres Reyes del Morro and the fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña, today known as the Morro-Cabaña Historical Military Park, guard the bay with similar verve to that of colonial times.

Except that it is not pirates or English redcoats who are infiltrating its walls today, nor does the pungent smell of gunpowder fill the air, nor does the stone tremble with the echo of the deafening noise of the cannons.

The "assailants" are none other than professionals in the world of travel and hospitality. The smell is a mix of sea breeze, plaster residue, artisan coffee, and roasting meat. The sound that fills the walls is that of simultaneous talks and live music.

Thus, El Morro and La Cabaña hosted the 2023 International Tourism Fair, held on this occasion from May 1 to 5.

The distinguished bulwark of the Cuban capital, which alternates the FITUR headquarters with Varadero every year, did not line up cannons at the port, but rather opened its old galleys to accommodate tourism agencies and providers.

Pieces of cardboard sandwiched between sky and sea

It is the week of the fair. In the morning, hundreds of tourism professionals travel by car and go through the bay tunnel that connects the Havana metropolitan area with Ocho Vías, that road that leads to Guanabacoa, Cojímar, Alamar, Guanabo: deeply Creole urbanized areas, in whose names and green areas exudes the throbbing spectrum of the indigenous.

As soon as you emerge in the eastern zone and pass the control point, exhibitors and visitors take a right and go up the hill on which the Morro lighthouse stands out. Behind him, with each meter of ascent, the bay expands to the ends of the view, and now at the top the curvature of the inlet is shown to us in all its magnitude like a teardrop opened by the narrowest edge, at the feet of the city that recalls a Portocarrero painting.

The view of the bay and the city from Morro-Cabaña, which has so captivated artists, historical figures, travelers and locals. Photo of San Cristóbal Travel Agency.

The buildings are stacked one on top of the other like pieces of cardboard sandwiched between sky and sea. Capitol Dome Gold, Roof Vermilion, Nostalgic Green and Cupid's Cheek Pink seasoned with spots of the most polluted tone of Soot Gray: these are colors that merge into a spectacular sight in front of us when we observe the panorama from the hill of Morro-Cabaña .

In the C3 warehouse, sharing the space with the Amistur and Online Tours/World2Fly exhibitors, the San Cristóbal travel agency stands in the background with a mahogany table that suggests the atmosphere of a nautical chart room rather than business meetings.

On the table there is a hint of browsing, a spontaneous outline of an itinerary: flyers, diaries, business cards and merchandising are scattered on the table; your order is reset with each visit.

New range of products. Major Agencies. A cliffhanger?

While sun and beach tourism persists as an attractive model for the Caribbean region and other destinations and agents consolidate as leaders in this sector, San Cristóbal, as an agency of the Office of the Historian of Havana, seeks to promote the values ​​of the historical villas of Cuba through the creation of programs that complement the activity of waves and sand with inimitable offers of city, nature and communities.

At the Tourism Fair, which dedicated this edition to Culture and Heritage, the occasion was opportune to launch offers that integrate the traveler not with a product, but with a living environment. That is the power of narrative and knowledge, not having a book as an exclusive source, but having a whole open world; sensations and people that contribute to an experience marked by diversity.

Although San Cristóbal stands out for its visits to the National Capitol and several colonial tours, this time it added excursions to Viñales to the portfolio of offers, which bring the adventurer closer to the heart of tobacco and coffee-growing lands in the west of the country, in the middle of a landscape exuberant and full of optional activities to discover the charms of the Cuban countryside.

In Viñales, the traveler can see the house of a peasant firsthand, have lunch there and have an after-dinner tasting traditional-style brewed coffee accompanied by the aroma of a locally harvested cigar. This tour is one of many that promote other activities such as horseback riding and guided visits to communities in the area immersed in farming and lodging activities.

The agency promotes tourism through the heritage valley, but the offer is also growing in the city: the Ruta de Martí is another recently released original product. In a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, the traveler is taken through centers that the National Hero of Cuba frequented during his childhood and youth in Havana, an itinerary that includes moments prior to and during his years of forced labor in the San Lázaro Quarries.

The "José Martí" Birthplace Museum is the starting point of the Habana de Martí route, an exclusive product of the San Cristóbal agency that has aroused interest due to its theme and perspective. Photo of San Cristóbal Travel Agency.

On this route, which begins at the Museo Casa Natal "José Martí" on Paula street, the traveler can connect the figure of the poet and patriot with the Humanism that he cultivated in all his work and struggle, as well as his affinity for the cultures, conflicts and exploits of the American peoples, in addition to identifying the strong feelings that unite Cuba and Spain, countries that Martí recognized as homelands, maintaining his conviction in the independence of the island from colonial power.

The ultimate intention with this guided tour is for the traveler to access the thoughts of a man of action who transcended his time and borders, at the same time that he was a faithful representative of the most sublime of his time and country. All this, with the luxury of mixing the Havana of today and of the past in a trip that will surely leave an impression on the traveler due to its surprising contrasts, unique views and clever guides.

Accessible tourism is one of the most recent adventures that the San Cristóbal agency has embarked on, advocating for a city and heritage within everyone's reach. Photo of San Cristóbal Travel Agency.

Another great step forward has been the Leal Accessibility Pathway, which offers four different tours of the Historic Center taking into account the principles of accessible tourism: the reduction of psychological, visual, sound, spatial and cognitive barriers through the preparation of guides and acquisition of equipment for a broader enjoyment of the various activities and areas offered by the Havana Golden Kilometer, where the Historian Eusebio Leal (1942-2020) poured all his energy, consecrated to the honor of the city until his last breath.

These exclusive agency products, as well as new initiatives in terms of reservations, accommodation and customized packages, were valued and promoted in meetings with foreign and local agencies present at the fair.

Representatives and directors of Cuba Travel Services, Fly for Vacations, Skedio Travel, Veta Tours, Cubanacán, Aston Panorama Hotel, Génesis and Caribbean Tours, among other important entities, met with specialists and heads of San Cristóbal at the fair, seeking a healthy practice and balanced between tourism and culture.

But concerning that purpose, where does the catchphrase end and the action begin? The second installment of this report on San Cristóbal at the International Tourism Fair of Cuba in 2023 delves into the subject.

The story will continue in the second and final part of this report…