Official media try to show that the foreign currency from this sector serves to develop the country.
14ymedio, Madrid, May 28, 2025 — When the official media announced this Tuesday the topic to be discussed on the Round Table TV program, the title chosen was ’Cuban tourism: You are the destination’. The Cuban economist Pedro Monreal took it as a joke and pointed out, before providing data on the sector, that it was typical of a bolero. In fact, it is the claim of the most recent campaign of the Ministry of Tourism, and yesterday it came to light during the television program on the lips of the officials present. In the midst of a weary population, aware that tourism drains the coffers of the State without travelers arriving to fill them, it is increasingly important to convince them that the return on investment will come and will be for their benefit.
In that sense, the long preamble of Susset Rosales Vázquez, director general of Planning and Development of the Ministry of Economy and Planning, went directly to the subject. “What the Revolution does in tourism is simply solve the essential problems of the people,” she said, quoting Fidel Castro, a convert to the sector’s virtues only after the Soviets departed with perestroika.
To sum up, Rosales Vázquez launched a battery of miracles that tourism achieves in Cuba, starting with what she called fresh currency. “It permits the balance of trade, exports and imports, and finances the main priorities of the sector itself. It also, at the same time and very importantly, allows the financing of priorities in other sectors such as health, education and infrastructure, which have direct benefits for the population, society, communities…”.
It seemed like a joke when, among all that, she mentioned roads, drinking water, cars and taxis, and, best of all, electricity
The list of blessings was endless. He mentioned agriculture (for the supply of hotels and restaurants), airports, culture, heritage conservation and natural areas… everything that is improved for tourists has an impact on the population, he said. And it seemed like a joke when, among other things, he mentioned roads, drinking water, cars and taxis, and, best of all, electricity.
“The enemies of the Revolution know what tourism represents for the vitality of our country and also for the prosperity of our people. That is why it is constantly under attack. Tourism is an engine, a strategic pillar for the economic and social development of the country,” he insisted.
If the state of everything he mentioned is an indication of the progress of tourism, it became more than clear what the result is of having empty hotels. And vice versa. And if what he intended was that the population assume tourism as a necessary sacrifice for the compensations, it is doubtful that he accomplished it.
To illustrate with an example the wonders that tourism can bring, the Round Table was attended by the vice president of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources, Javier Toledo Tápanes. He was the only one present who offered data, although it may not be enough for the million Cubans who do not receive water regularly. One of the main objectives of the national hydraulic plan is to “guarantee the infrastructure for the development of tourism in the country,” said the official.
Twenty-seven new drinking water and waste water pumping stations and seven waste treatment plants have been built
As this doesn’t sound very good in a country with such high instability in the supply, Toledo explained – in his own way – that when a large project is undertaken to bring water to a hotel, it benefits all the neighbors. “A comprehensive analysis is made of the whole area, of the entire community, of all the population that could have problems with the service there. And the systems are designed on that basis, with an integral view of the problem,” he said, which roughly means that if you live in a remote area, say goodbye to having a good pipeline.
Thanks to his speech, however, it became clear that the sector takes on part of the budget for these works, which he called ’induced’. “Tourism provides important funding for many of these programs, which at certain times are not available through central financing and, above all, in technological matters, pumping and chlorination equipment, even in desalination plants,” he said.
According to his speech, in the last three years more than 125 km of large-scale pipelines, which did not exist before, and more than 350 km of supply networks have been implemented in the surroundings areas. Twenty-seven new drinking water and waste water pumping stations and seven waste treatment plants have been built: a total of 300,000 beneficiaries as a result of an annual investment of $300 million. The amount is “appreciable,” added the official, although less so in comparison to the population who still have no water when they turn on the tap.
Toledo announced several other new works, including a “macro investment” – without giving figures – for a transfer in Holguín that will have around 50,000 beneficiaries, including, he said, remote communities that receive the piped water. He also mentioned the construction of housing in Santa Lucía (Camagüey), which has required an investment in hydraulic works to contribute to the exploitation of this tourist center.
“We have bought with this currency a group of facilities for the producers, so that they can work in more comfort”
Among the many other interventions that are carried out in different provinces, he referred to the Palatino pipeline (Havana), whose first phase of expansion has been completed. “Tourism has financed several pieces of equipment to strengthen and allow the stability of water pumping this summer,” he said. The example was a bad one, because hours before, the breakdown of several rotors in this great pipeline had left the municipality of Plaza de la Revolución with little pressure.
There was time for several more speeches, from the camping managers and the Gran Caribe group to William Díaz Dueñas, general director of the Fruta Selecta Marketing Company, who gave some good news. According to him, he aims for 100% of his companies to supply directly to tourism, because the currency he receives gives a return for producers, with whom, he said, they have no defaults.
“We have bought with this currency a group of facilities for the producers, so that they can work in more comfort and thus have quality productions with an added value,” he concluded, in addition to announcing the possibility of opening in the coming months “a shop for the producer, with a group of inputs that these tourism revenues generate.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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