Vietnam’s tourism industry earns over 1 billion USD during five-day holidays Vietnam welcomed more than 300,000 foreign visitors and served 7 million domestic tourists during the five-day holidays of Hung Kings Commemoration Day, Reunification Day and International Workers’ Day from April 29 to May 3, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. V Vietnam welcomed more than 300,000 foreign visitors and served 7 million domestic tourists during the five-day holidays of Hung Kings Commemoration Day, Reunification Day and International Workers’ Day from April 29 to May 3, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Total revenue from the tourists was estimated at 24 trillion VND (over 1.02 billion USD), up 9% compared with the same period last year. The occupancy rate at tourist accommodation establishments was 60% and even up to [...]

Tailor-made travel insurance for Cuba By: Rachell Cowan Canino Do you already have your trip to Cuba ready? You prepared the itinerary, the plane ticket, and everything is organized to have the best vacations in one of the wonderful destinations in the Caribbean, surely; but do you also have your travel insurance ready? And the truth is that there are details, that although they seem uncomfortable to prepare, are essential to guarantee a unique experience. For this reason, Esicuba proposes travel insurance tailored to Cuba, which aims to offer greater guarantees of peace of mind to travelers or those travel agencies and tour operators recurring in the island's tourism market. So, what are the benefits of this offer? To find out about this issue, we spoke exclusively with Juan Andrés Bello, who is the Director of Special Businesses of Seguros Internacionales de Cuba S.A. (ESICUBA) "Firstly, the benefits of the travel [...]

Cuba decentralizes approval of foreign investments The implementation of some projects with foreign capital is to proceed faster in Cuba in the future. The Acuerdo 9374, which appeared in the Official Gazette on April 3, shifts the approval of international economic associations (“Asociación Económica Internacional”) from the level of the Council of Ministers to the individual ministries. This is intended to speed up the often-lengthy approval processes, particularly in agriculture and tourism. “The internal process of analyzing and approving business proposals involving foreign investment must be adapted to the country’s new realities,” the law’s explanatory memorandum states. In the food production is hoped that the economic association mechanism will improve the inflow of capital. The Ministry of Agriculture is now required to use this form specifically “as a modality for foreign investment to increase agricultural production in the country.” Until now, economic associations were known mainly in the context of hotel [...]