Singapore Hotel Chain First Operation in Cuba a Success
- Written by Redacción ¡ahora!
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Photo: Radio RebeldeThe Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts Company of Singapore has achieved success at its first hotel in Cuba, the Dhawa Cayo Santa María, inaugurated a little over a year ago in this tourist center, located in the north of the central province of Villa Clara.
Sergio Álvarez, the Asian firm's representative on the island, told the Cuban News Agency that since its official opening in March 2017, it has maintained good occupancy rates, despite the shutdown following Hurricane Irma last September.
It has been a successful operation, said the executive, who was optimistic about sales for the coming summer and winter seasons.
This 515-room facility represents Banyan Tree's debut in Latin America and the Caribbean, and is also the first in the world to launch the Dhawa brand, which was added to the other three existing brands: Banyan Tree, Angsana and Cassia.
So far, its main markets have been Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Argentina, Chile and Spain, while in the summer months Cubans were in second place.
Very close to Dhawa, in Cayo Las Brujas, is in the final phase of construction of a hotel that will also be managed by Banyan Tree, under its luxury brand Angsana.
According to Álvarez, the new hotel will focus on the adults only segment and will have 252 bedrooms and two swimming pools with sea views.
Currently the Asian company is building two more hotels, one of the luxury brand Banyan Tree and the other of Angsana, both in the emerging area of Cayo Buba, near Varadero, Matanzas.
According to Álvarez, Banyan Tree operates 60 hotels worldwide, most of which are located in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, China and Vietnam, and for the past eight years have opened two in Mexico.
Data provided by Manuel Marrero, the head of Tourism, reports that in Cuba there are 21 foreign managers through 95 hotel administration and marketing contracts, responsible for 45,333 rooms (65 percent of the country).
There are also 27 joint ventures that manage more than 5,000 four- and five-star hotel rooms.
The tourism sector brings together the largest number of businesses operating in the country with foreign investment, considered an essential element in the nation's socioeconomic development strategy. / ACN
