On the eve of the inaugural SAHIC Cuba investment conference in Havana, Meliá Hotels International announced during the International Tourism Fair in Cuba that it will extend its presence in the center of the island with the addition of eight hotels, while also assisting in promoting multi-destination vacations.
The agreement between Meliá and Cuban hotel groups Gran Caribe, Cubanacan and Islazul aims to promote organized multi-destination vacations that already include several towns and cities on the island, while at the same time adding new destinations, one of the objectives of a Cuban tourism strategy which seeks to enhance the visibility of a number of cities and regions with huge potential for quality tourism.
In the city of Cienfuegos, Meliá will manage the 56-room San Carlos Hotel and the 49-room Union Hotel, both located in the historic center of Cienfuegos, declared a World Heritage Site in 2005. The company will also manage the Jagua Hotel in the same city, operating 173 rooms under the Innside by Meliá brand.
In Trinidad, the company will renovate and manage the 279-room Ancon Hotel under the Sol House brand, as well as a new 102-room hotel to be built at the end of the Ancon peninsula and operated under the Meliá brand.
Lastly, in Camagüey, Meliá will begin to work with Islazul to manage three hotels, two of them in the historic center of the city: the 72-room Gran Hotel and the 58-room Hotel Colón. Innside by Meliá will also be the brand applied to the 142-room Hotel Camagüey after an investment in renovation.
The company, which has had a presence on the island nation for 27 years, will assume responsibility for the hotels on November 1, starting a transitional process in their management, which will be completed by January 1, 2018.
“These eight hotels are an important challenge, which we face with great enthusiasm and responsibility, given that we are also taking on a commitment to strengthen the multi-destination vacation segment, guaranteeing the service and quality of the Meliá, Innside, and Sol House brands from the east to the west of the island,” said Meliá’s Vice President Gabriel Escarrer Jaume.