• Tourist industry reactivated, reports Minister Manuel Marrero

BY MIGUEL COMELLAS

THE entire tourism industry has been reactivated following the extremely dangerous Hurricane Ivan, and the close to 5,000 visitors who were evacuated to places of safety have resumed their vacations with no reports of injury or damage, reported Manuel Marrero, the minister for the industry.

In a conference with both the national and foreign press, as well as dozens of tour operators at the Hotel Nacional, the official reported that national and international flights were resumed from Wednesday, September 15.

He also stressed that none of the thousands of tourist facilities throughout the country had suffered any serious damage, although certain locations on the southern coast had been affected, but repaired within a few hours.

All the evacuees have expressed their gratitude to the Cuban authorities for the attention received, which included medical assistance, comfortable accommodation, good food and indoor entertainment.

The minister reported that up to August 30, 1.453 million tourists had visited the country, representing a 10% increase over the same time period in 2003.

The majority of tourists came from Britain, Canada, Scandinavia, Spain, Italy, France, Germany and Mexico, amongst others.

It is hoped that the proposed objective of two million visitors this year will be achieved by the first two weeks in December, he affirmed.

The tourist industry in Cuba – with more than 40,000 beds, hundreds of hotels and diverse facilities and employing some 85,000 professional staff – was not damaged during the 72 hours in which the island was touched by this hurricane with sustained winds of up to 200 kmph and even stronger gusts, constituting the most dangerous cyclone in the last 40 years.