Cuba Consolidates as Nautical Destination
In an interview for TTC, José Miguel Díaz Escrich, president of Cuba’s Nautical Business Group and Marinas Marlin S.A. and commodore of the Hemingway International Nautical Club, affirmed that “today the Marlin’s principal efforts are directed at the consolidation of nautical products that, as added value, are offered in the country’s principal sun and beach destinations.”
“As the current president of the Marlin, for seven months, I have defined two work lines. The first is to upgrade the current products – raise their quality, professional standards and economic efficiency – and to continue developing them… The second, and the principal motivation for me, is the design and construction of a new Marlin, whose mission consists in developing a specialized nautical tourism with world class quality and professional standards that will allow us to make a reality the vision of placing Cuba among the Caribbean’s first nautical destinations.
“We are working for this in the development of what we have called fishing and scuba diving camps, as an integrated concept of the specialized nautical product that includes lodgment, gastronomy and nautical activity. We have already identified several places in the Cuban archipelago that have major conditions.
The first previewed in our strategy include Cayo Largo and the Colony – in the Colony (which has a hotel, marina, scuba diving center and tradition) we also want to establish a life on board charter base and prepare the marina for traffic.
“That is, to position this new Marlin, we should: create the fishing and diving camps; start operating floating life on board bases – to rent out to tourists who come with those programs from abroad, in preestablished areas and itineraries; and develop the marinas, allowing us to increase the arrival of foreign vessels and their journey along Cuban coasts.” Referring to the Marlin – one of the groups specializing in nautical tourism in Cuba –, Escrich said: “It has 10 companies and branches that cover the Hemingway, Tarará, Darsena de Varadero, Cayo Guillermo, Santiago de Cuba, Trinidad and Cienfuegos marinas. Moreover, we have nautical branches in Jardines del Rey, and Santa Lucía (Camagüey), and we manage the Cayo Largo Marina, in Cayo Largo del Sur.” The following subject dealt with was the additional offers in the conventional tourism portfolio.
Escrich highlighted, among the walks and excursions, a growing modality, the seafaris to the keys on catamarans, with leisure time, bathing in the sea or fish watching. “Our star product is Cayo Blanco, in Varadero, which leaves from the Chapelín Marina and represents almost 25% of the Group’s income.”
He mentioned the excursion Boat Adventures, tours of mangroves, estuaries and low-lying virgin areas, on boats with a capacity for two; and the Discover Tour, along the beautiful Canímar River, navigable for more than eight kilometers. In Jardines del Rey, the surrounding areas of Cayo Media Luna are being exploited for these purposes; in Santa Lucía, Cayo Sabinal; in Guardalavaca, they leave for Cayo Saetía and Gibara; and in Trinidad for Cayo Blanco del Sur.
Further on, the commodore explained that “in the most important tourist destinations there are international scuba diving centers, some of which are very characteristic, such as the one in Santa Lucía, the only one that offers divers a show with sharks… We have scuba diving centers in Cayo Coco, Varadero, Trinidad, Cienfuegos, and Havana, where lessons for beginners are given and the tourists who are certified can carry out any type of immersions.”
“We have an important fleet of fishing boats; we are especially developing the high seas modality, in the open ocean, where there are good currents for pelagic species (beak, marlin species). We have 76 nautical points, 60 hired by all-inclusive hotels, which offer windsurfing boards, kayaks, water bikes, sailboats; some destinations offer the banana or tow boat and parasailing.”
Finally, he summed up the products for specialized nautical tourism. The Marlin-Azulmar branch, in the southern archipelago of Jardines de la Reina, specializes in this segment and has a camp; it has life on board on a floating hotel and several vessels, and the boat takes them to the fishing and diving areas.
He said they have extended Azulmar to Cayo Largo, which also functions as a camp. And there’s a third point, on the Isle of Youth – they stay at Rancho El Tesoro and fish in Punta del Este.
Two life on board bases operate in Cienfuegos, with charter companies (Blue Sailling Alborán (German-Spanish) and Platen (Croatian), which manage fleets of 10 or 12 sailboats.
The president of Marlin also highlighted that specialized nautical tourism outlines the future vision of the Group, “operating new market segments, that of tourism whose reason for traveling is the enjoyment of nautical activities.”
“As the current president of the Marlin, for seven months, I have defined two work lines. The first is to upgrade the current products – raise their quality, professional standards and economic efficiency – and to continue developing them… The second, and the principal motivation for me, is the design and construction of a new Marlin, whose mission consists in developing a specialized nautical tourism with world class quality and professional standards that will allow us to make a reality the vision of placing Cuba among the Caribbean’s first nautical destinations.“We are working for this in the development of what we have called fishing and scuba diving camps, as an integrated concept of the specialized nautical product that includes lodgment, gastronomy and nautical activity. We have already identified several places in the Cuban archipelago that have major conditions.
The first previewed in our strategy include Cayo Largo and the Colony – in the Colony (which has a hotel, marina, scuba diving center and tradition) we also want to establish a life on board charter base and prepare the marina for traffic.
“That is, to position this new Marlin, we should: create the fishing and diving camps; start operating floating life on board bases – to rent out to tourists who come with those programs from abroad, in preestablished areas and itineraries; and develop the marinas, allowing us to increase the arrival of foreign vessels and their journey along Cuban coasts.” Referring to the Marlin – one of the groups specializing in nautical tourism in Cuba –, Escrich said: “It has 10 companies and branches that cover the Hemingway, Tarará, Darsena de Varadero, Cayo Guillermo, Santiago de Cuba, Trinidad and Cienfuegos marinas. Moreover, we have nautical branches in Jardines del Rey, and Santa Lucía (Camagüey), and we manage the Cayo Largo Marina, in Cayo Largo del Sur.” The following subject dealt with was the additional offers in the conventional tourism portfolio.
Escrich highlighted, among the walks and excursions, a growing modality, the seafaris to the keys on catamarans, with leisure time, bathing in the sea or fish watching. “Our star product is Cayo Blanco, in Varadero, which leaves from the Chapelín Marina and represents almost 25% of the Group’s income.”He mentioned the excursion Boat Adventures, tours of mangroves, estuaries and low-lying virgin areas, on boats with a capacity for two; and the Discover Tour, along the beautiful Canímar River, navigable for more than eight kilometers. In Jardines del Rey, the surrounding areas of Cayo Media Luna are being exploited for these purposes; in Santa Lucía, Cayo Sabinal; in Guardalavaca, they leave for Cayo Saetía and Gibara; and in Trinidad for Cayo Blanco del Sur.
Further on, the commodore explained that “in the most important tourist destinations there are international scuba diving centers, some of which are very characteristic, such as the one in Santa Lucía, the only one that offers divers a show with sharks… We have scuba diving centers in Cayo Coco, Varadero, Trinidad, Cienfuegos, and Havana, where lessons for beginners are given and the tourists who are certified can carry out any type of immersions.”
“We have an important fleet of fishing boats; we are especially developing the high seas modality, in the open ocean, where there are good currents for pelagic species (beak, marlin species). We have 76 nautical points, 60 hired by all-inclusive hotels, which offer windsurfing boards, kayaks, water bikes, sailboats; some destinations offer the banana or tow boat and parasailing.”
Finally, he summed up the products for specialized nautical tourism. The Marlin-Azulmar branch, in the southern archipelago of Jardines de la Reina, specializes in this segment and has a camp; it has life on board on a floating hotel and several vessels, and the boat takes them to the fishing and diving areas.
He said they have extended Azulmar to Cayo Largo, which also functions as a camp. And there’s a third point, on the Isle of Youth – they stay at Rancho El Tesoro and fish in Punta del Este.
Two life on board bases operate in Cienfuegos, with charter companies (Blue Sailling Alborán (German-Spanish) and Platen (Croatian), which manage fleets of 10 or 12 sailboats.
The president of Marlin also highlighted that specialized nautical tourism outlines the future vision of the Group, “operating new market segments, that of tourism whose reason for traveling is the enjoyment of nautical activities.”