• Submitted by: Luis Manuel Mazorra
• Business and Economy
• 09 / 25 / 2014

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The Chinese Company Beijing Enterprises Holdings Limited and Cuban Palmares group will join to create the second joint venture for the development of real estate related to golf. The creation of these tourist scenarios also led the union with the same national company and British Esencia Hotels & Resorts.

Foreign participation in tourism areas in Cuba amounts to 26 joint ventures, which manage about 5 thousand 600 rooms through the country.

Reinaldo José Daniel Alonso, director of Business Tourism Ministry, after announcing the new economic entity, reported that the project will be developed in the area of Bellomonte, east of the capital. He also said that "in the current semester has advanced in parallel to the technical preparation of two projects: one located in El Salado, west of the capital, and another in Punta Colorada, in Pinar del Río", both with participation of Spanish companies in addition to Palmares.

The note emitted by the Tourism Ministry also announced today investments in the beach front and in areas where there are not the necessary infrastructure are prioritized, those are the cases of Santa Lucia beach, north of the province of Camagüey and Covarrubias in Las Tunas.

The foreign part of the first joint venture, Esencia Hotels & Resorts, will invest 350 million dollars in 2000 real estate units, a luxurious country club with conference services, shows, restaurants, shops, sports and spa facilities, a hotel, a maritime center, a golf course of 18 holes, and several apartments and villas.

With these investments in luxury tourism the country aims to increase its revenues and competitiveness, especially after being approved new foreign investment law where this branch of the economy is favored. Importantly, tourism ranks second in contributions of foreign exchange, behind the export of professional services.

In the first half of 2014, according to official data, international tourism came in about 1,077 million dollars, and tourist arrivals increased 3.7% to 2013, with a total of 660 thousand 055 million arrivals, a figure with which, although higher, is not likely to reach 3 million as a goal to finish the year.

Source: OnCuba