Gaviota Tourism Group prepares for another high season

By Daily Pérez Guillén

The Gaviota Tourism Group is kicking off the high tourism season in the Caribbean with novelties. The company, which welcomes about 50% of tourists arriving in Cuba in its facilities, is committed to options focused on sensorial experiences and comfort during stays in its hotels.

During the 6th Destinos Gaviota Tourism Exhibition, held recently in the Holguín tourist resort, located in the north of the eastern region of the island, Gaviota Vice President of Marketing, Frank País Oltuski, presented a press conference alongside other executives and international journalists attending the second most relevant leisure industry event in Cuba.

From the Grand Memories Holguín hotel, which stands on the Ramón de Antilla peninsula, Oltuski informed that this destination will continue to grow with new accommodation options. “This is just the beginning. There is this hotel, the Sierra Cristal, and another one is being built with a particularity: modular room technology. A room factory has already been built here, and is in operation. They are being assembled one by one and that gives us tremendous speed, savings in resources, quality in the finishes and will allow us to advance,” he noted.

Gaviota executives at a press conference during the 6th Destinos Gaviota Tourism Exhibition.

Meanwhile, Business Director Roberto Enrique Calzadilla, explained that today the project includes three facilities (the two hotels already completed and Plaza Polimita) and will close the first stage with another four. “In addition to the hotel infrastructure, it will have a marina, the support of TransGaviota, a commercial base and all the development to be able to implement the investments.”

“Due to the characteristics of the territory, with the natural beauty of our coasts, of the beaches, it is very important to develop. We are at a fairly advanced stage and all the projects are being implemented. Several tour operators and foreign chains are very interested in Ramón de Antilla,” he added.

Although the bad weather conditions caused by the proximity of Hurricane Oscar prevented the more than 1,000 attendees of the Destinos Gaviota Exhibition from enjoying the beach at this resort, Oltuski described it as safe and with a coral reef that marks a breakwater some 3 or 400 meters from the coast. “It’s very safe, like the whole Esmeralda and Pesquero area.”

Hotel Grand Memories Holguín in the Península Ramón de Antilla.

Along with the logistical support for this resort, which includes laundries, warehouses, transport bases, water networks and communications, Gaviota has built a small city with apartments for its workers. “For us, the development of the whole Ramón de Antilla project has a lot to do with the population of this area. It is not conceived only as a tourist destination, but also implicitly includes social development,” the business director highlighted.

On this subject, Oltuski emphasized that the government decided to support this project to ensure that the local population, impacted by the fall in industrial-mining and agricultural activity, could be incorporated into the sector. “Surrounding infrastructure is created that facilitates and improves the life of the entire population; new sources of employment, study and health facilities are created. There are communities where we have built polyclinics, children’s daycare centers, schools.”

Throughout the Cuban archipelago, the Gaviota Tourism Group operates some 42,000 rooms, 87% of which are managed by foreign chains, according to executives. “We are committed to bringing international chains to Cuba that have the market, know-how, strong commercial teams and distribution technology to market our destinations,” Oltuski explained.

A room at the Hotel Grand Memories Holguín.

With the opening of new facilities next year, three in Havana and two in Holguín, the number of Gaviota rooms will reach 45,000.

In response to a journalist’s question related to sustainability, Oltuski clarified that the Ministry of Environment grants final approval for the construction of each hotel. “We have even demolished rooms that we had on the Varadero dune to comply with the regulations that have been established in Cuba for the protection of the beaches. All the wastewater from the hotels goes to treatment plants and provides irrigation for our gardens. All other waste is delivered to companies that are dedicated to dealing with it. There are many automatic systems, energy saving systems. However, we have fallen behind with our own generation of energy through solar panels. I know that this is being considered in the new projects, and we will move further in that direction.”

CONNECTIVITY AND MARKETS

The great challenge for the take-off in the arrival of visitors to Cuba continues to be the increase in connectivity. During the exchange with the press, it was reported that this winter, in addition to the already existing flight connections from Europe (Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey and Russia), operations from Poland, Switzerland and Frankfurt will resume.

Gaviota is also exploring alternatives to establish domestic flights connecting Havana with the east in order to increase tourist visits to that region of the country.

Regarding the Chinese market, which has been particularly boosted by Air China’s two weekly frequencies since May, the vice president also added: “The programs being promoted in China include Havana, excursions to Viñales, Cienfuegos-Trinidad and Santa María or Varadero. They are short programs, which is what the market demands. The Chinese do not go for big crowds swimming at the beach like the Canadians; they go for more historical, cultural and scenic sites.”

He added that there is a training program for workers of all the facilities that receive Chinese tourists, including the extra-hotel services.

Unspoiled beaches on the Ramón de Antilla peninsula, located at the entrance of Nipe Bay. ACN FOTO/Juan Pablo CARRERAS/sdl

In June, Gaviota unveiled the official launch of the joint venture with China CCITD through social media, which was created with the purpose of promoting Cuban tourism in the Asian nation. “China has a tremendous potential as a market, because of its interest in multi-destination trips, and we have identified how Chinese tourists arrive — through Air China, Turkish Airline, Aeromexico. The multi-destination product is included by the agencies that are working here. We are making a significant effort in this regard.”

Calzadilla noted that Chinese businesspeople are interested in tourism development in Cuba and in hotel management, and proposals have been submitted due to the importance of the market. He also pointed out that 29 Chinese influencers participated in the Destinos Gaviota Exhibition.

The company is also working to reestablish its staff of guides who speak the language of the Asian giant.

TRAINING AND QUALITY

Training at the Group goes beyond Asian visitors. Oltusky emphasized that the company is remodeling its staff training program as part of a major effort to incorporate students who are already prepared when they reach working age and can start working in tourism services.

Executives announced that a hotel-school program will soon begin at Gaviota’s facilities. “Participants have already been selected, here working among you today are the core of the teaching staff of this initiative. All this has also been agreed with the universities and the Ministry of Education.”

Asked about the development of “kilometer zero agriculture” as a logistics source for hotels, the vice president stated that Gaviota finances projects that seek to increase the production of poultry and pork, vegetables and fruits; investments that are made together with farmers, he said.

The gastronomy project that is identified with the Nativa brand, associated with traditional Cuban cuisine served in a gourmet way with natural ingredients, also promotes this link with the communities, while “it takes away our dependence on imports, on specially prepared things.” and it lowers our food costs despite being of very high quality.”

The Tradiciones restaurants are added, “several throughout the country in which this food and other Cuban foods are served. Maybe soon we will give a surprise about a Tradiciones restaurant abroad,” he said.

In the dialogue with the press, the executives also made reference to the new Playa Luxury hotel brand, presented by the Group’s own president, Carlos M. Latuff. According to the president of Gaviota, this initiative opens a new standard in Cuban tourism, a concept that seeks to remain in memory beyond the luxury and comfort of a hotel, but rather aims to remain in memorable experiences.

The Playa Luxury service will begin to operate in the four most emblematic destinations of the archipelago: Playa Cayo Santa María, a paradise where nature merges with comfort; Playa Vista Azul in Varadero, a corner where the ocean is part of the luxury experience; Playa Pesquero in the charming province of Holguín, and in the new Playa Luxury hotel in Cayo Guillermo, which aspires to be a benchmark in the Caribbean for the personalized experiences that will be offered to each guest.

This project is part of the Siéntelo communication campaign, which presents the Cuba destination as an opportunity for exclusivity and a sensory experience. «It has a projection in different markets. “We have started with Canada, which is Gaviota’s main market, through marketing agencies and co-marketing agreements with some tour operators,” explained Gaviota’s Promotion Director, Ana Karla Rodríguez Merchán. The communication strategy contemplates its insertion into other markets.