Spain: Cuba's Top Commercial and Tourism Partner

THE HONORABLE JUAN FERNANDEZ TRIGO,

AMBASSADOR OF SPAIN TO CUBA, SAT DOWN WITH EXCELENCIAS MAGAZINE TO TALK ABOUT

THE FUTURE OF THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES

In its 39th edition this year, Cuba's International Tourism Fair, FITCuba 2019, has picked the island nation's capital as the setting of choice, taking as a special motivation the upcoming celebration (November 16) of its fifth centennial. The most significant event for the local and regional travel industry, this time around dedicated to MICE travel and featuring Spain as the guest country of honor, is no doubt something that will serve to strengthen relations between both nations.

Regarding this and other topics associated with the current state, development,

business opportunities and future of the ties between Spain and Cuba, the Hon. Mr. Juan Fernandez Trigo, ambassador of Spain to Cuba, sat down with Excelencias magazine, a publication from the Excelencias Group he claims to be familiar very with and being a regular reader of some of its issues, as well as a follower of the Caribbean News Digital news service that -he admits- keeps him posted in the latest developments related to the travel industry.

Suffice to say that we cannot talk about the progress of Cuban tourism without referring to the role played by Spain. Important data support this statement: it is the island nation's first European commercial partner and a very important supplier, while numerous Spanish tourism companies and prestigious hotel chains are betting on setting up shop in the country. What's more, visits by Spaniards have ramped up. At what point is the commercial exchange and, in the long term, how is the behavior of the business between the two countries?

If cooperation in tourism is quite large, commercial exchange is also very remarkable. Spain is Cuba's top exporter from the European Union (EU), accounting for nearly half of the sales coming out of Europe, but it is also by far the top importer of Cuban products in Europe. Although we are not going through an easy time, the year 2018 set new record highs of Spanish exports to Cuba with €970 million worth of exports, up 8 percent from the previous year. We do not yet have the complete figures for 2018 for all the countries of the world, but I think Spain can be considered Cuba's great commercial partner -in addition to tourismdue to the volume of its sales, due to the increasing evolution of the figures and, very important, due to the great diversity of products that make up its offer, which implies that it exerts a positive influence on production, consumption, technology, research and, ultimately, on all aspects of the Island's economic life.

It is not by chance that Spain will be featured as the guest country of honor at FitCuba 2019. How important is that?

It is a great satisfaction that Spain is the guest country of honor at this prestigious fair, precisely the same year that marks the 500th anniversary of the founding of Havana. I think that, in this sense, the Cuban government has shown great sensitivity towards Spain. A gesture that we undoubtedly appreciate and recognize.