World Travel Awards recognizes Cuba as “Leading Cultural Destination of the Caribbean”

Photo: Kobby Dagan/123RF

By Yoanna Cervera/ Special to TTC no. 292

The largest of the Caribbean islands appears as a true stage throughout its geography showing the best of its traditions, its artistic manifestations and everything that identifies it. Arriving on Cuban land means connecting from your arrival and throughout your stay with an experience that, while captivating with its sun and beach attractions, connects with its people and especially with its culture.

Marked by various influences, Cuba not only has cigars, coffee and rum, but also numerous tangible and intangible heritages that attract visitors with their essence, diversity and colors that discover the most authentic in each destination along the way, as stated on the website cuba.travel, one of the main promotion portals on digital platforms.

From east to west there is a history that awaits and contrasts with the colonial and architectural beauty of cities such as Baracoa, Santiago de Cuba, Gibara, Bayamo, Camagüey, Trinidad, Matanzas, Havana, to mention some of the 15 that make up the Cuban network, where heritage is preserved and surprises in every detail discovered by those who venture.

Many moments define part of the cultural life of the Caribbean island. All artistic manifestations are made visible through music, theater, film and ballet festivals.

Music is especially felt everywhere, from the welcome at tourist facilities to the sound that accompanies the daily hustle and bustle. Traditional genres such as conga and rumba resonate in many spaces with the participation of local and national talents that span the musical and dance history of the nation. As if that were not enough, tourists also find courses to learn to dance and connect with that wide range of rhythms that range from son to salsa and transcend the country’s borders.

With these precedents comes the news of the World Travel Awards 2023 award in the category of “Leading Cultural Destination of the Caribbean,” a fact it rejoices, especially when among the finalists for the award were also important leaders of the region such as Barbados, Bermuda, Jamaica, Martinique, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The Cuban Ministry of Tourism precisely highlighted on the night of August 27 that the largest of the Caribbean islands was awarded for the third consecutive year in the contest that recognizes the best travel brands from throughout the Caribbean and America, in an edition that had its crowning moment at a gala held on the island of Saint Lucia, with the elegance and joy that characterizes the event.

The World Travel Awards collect the opinion of numerous professionals, travelers and scholars of the leisure industry to award a result. Considered the Oscars of the sector, this year they celebrated their 30th anniversary and with them the recognition for the largest of the Caribbean islands as a Cultural Destination of the Caribbean. Actually, Cuba is much more than a tourist choice; it is a journey to the heart of a rich and diverse culture, a space to connect with an unmatched passion for music, dance, and much more.