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SEVEN REASONS THAT SHOW WHY CUBA’S TRAVEL INDUSTRY WENT BACK TO NORMAL SO QUICKLY ON THE HEELS OF HURRICANE IRMA –THE MOST POWERFUL STORM TO EVER EMERGE OUT OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN OVER THE PAST 100 YEARS- AND IT’S NOW READY TO WELCOME AS MANY VISITORS WILLING TO LAND ON THE ISLAND NATION.

7 BECAUSE, the damage endured by the tourist facilities during hurricane Irma was gener-ally light. Most of the destruction was on the light linings, false roofs and glass panes. Those are inevitable impairments that are easy to restore and quite foreseen in cases like these, a reason why the replacements had been already stored. The buildings’ main structures suf-fered no damage at all. According to experts, the civil engineering of the post-revolution era and the rest of the constructions are “conservatives”. From the “old school”, builders “prefer” plenty of steel, concrete, solid and long-lasting constructive elements”. Their “critics” say these builders want their constructions to “last forever”… and beyond.

6 BECAUSE, the damage endured by the infrastructure, such as airports, roads and over-the-sea fairways, electric grids and communications, though truly severe in the sun-and-beach destinations, were repaired swiftly and professionally.
Long before the start of the high-peak season on Nov. 1, most of the infrastructure is now ready. In some particular cases, makeshift solutions were implemented in an effort to ac-commodate incoming visitors in a swift and absolutely safe way while experts work out the affectations definitely and in a short period of time.

5 BECAUSE, our recent history has shown that hurricanes, in addition to the severe damage they inflict on tourism infrastructure nationwide, has never limited the number of visitors coming to the archipelago.

4 BECAUSE, the ecosystems where Cuba’s travel destinations are nestled in have for many years benefitted from rock-solid environmental protection and preservation programs. Vul-nerability caused by anthropic action has been slashed and, in the same breath, resiliency has been beefed up, a move that creates conditions to successfully cope with natural disas-ters and prompts quick regeneration.
Cuban celebrated geoscientist Manuel A. Iturralde-Vinent says the costal morphology of the largest island is a consequence of three processes: 1) the rise of the sea level after the last interglacial era that started some 25,000 years ago; 2) the acceleration of this sea-level rising as a result of global warming derived from the industrial revolution and the emission of greenhouse-effect gases over the past 150 years; and 3) the interaction be-tween the rise of the sea level and such local factors as terrain moves and the alteration of ecosystems triggered by groundbreaking actions.
Iturralde-Vinent subdivides Cuban coasts into 15 different strips in order to ease their char-acterization. The number 3, stretching from Camaguey to the Hicacos Peninsula, was no doubt the area hurricane Irma pounded the most, especially the keys of the Sabana-Camaguey archipelago, which are home to the Jardines del Rey travel destination. These keys have a varied substrate ranging from calcareous sand to limestone and muds rich in organic materials and peat. Those areas harbor mangroves that, in many cases, remain in healthy conditions, plus some calcareous beaches that feature full-blown dunes. The configuration of these keys might vary after each hurricane swirls by and as time rolls on since they are very vulnerable to breaking waves and seal level variations, the expert points out. However, authorities believe that on the heels of any huge hydro-meteorological event, dunes and the coastline piled up far more sand than what they origi-nally had.

3 BECAUSE, Cuba boasts a Civil Defense System that embraces all of the country’s institu-tions, including the Ministry of Tourism, that guarantees full-time safety and protection to the local population and to all foreign visitors.
When hurricane Irma hit the island, 51,000 people were vacationing in Cuba, including 39,000 foreigners. As much as 88 percent of them (46,000) were staying on the north coast, the one the hurricane skirted along. As many as 10,625 tourists were evacuated from the Cayo Coco, Cayo Guillermo and Cayo Santa Maria keys. Some 5,000 of them were relocated in Havana and Varadero, while the rest of the visitors were flown back to Canada by their tour operator. Additionally, there were 2,216 campers on the north coast. All of them were evacuated to safer locations.

2 BECAUSE, tourism has turned out to be the country’s economic powerhouse, hefty enough to drag along the rest of the productive sectors and services, a reason why the na-tional treasure and all the decision-making as far as economic policies are concerned –within reasonable terms based on development plans- gave the travel industry the priority it deservedly needed to urgently repair the damage caused by the hurricane in a sustainable and qualitative fashion.
Right after the beginning of the fence-mending process between Cuba and the U.S. on Dec. 17, 2014, tourism has panned out to be the nation’s fastest-growing sector with double-digit growth since then. In 2015, the industry logged half a million more foreign visitors than the previous year, and a similar growth was reported in 2016.
Even though the number of visitors plummeted nearly fifty percent in the ninth month of the year as a result of hurricane Irma’s deadly path, from January to date as many as 3.6 million tourists have visited the country, up a staggering 24 percent from the same span of time in 2016. Some 600,000 more sunbathers have come to Cuba compared to last year’s figures.
If those who had their minds made up to visit Cuba in these months are not shooed away by the hurricane –that’s water under the bridge now- chances are the local travel industry could really chalk up or verge on the five-million-tourist mark. 

1 BECAUSE, those who work at the Ministry of Tourism are committed to guaranteeing the wellbeing and safe stay of all the visitors in a professional way. And the Cuban people, as hospitable as ever, are deeply interested in making tourism work. With the emergence of cooperatives and private enterprises on the island, for many Cuban families tourism has become a major factor to improve their domestic finances, let alone the local and national economies.