National travel
agencies to have primacy in tourist services in Cuba
Resolution 132/2021, published in the extraordinary Gaceta
Oficial 46, indicates that national travel agencies are the only ones
authorized to carry out procedures such as the issuance, reception and service
of tourists, the representation of foreign tour operators, and the design and
marketing of tourist packages.
by 
OnCuba
Staff
June 9, 2021
in Tourism in Cuba
The Cuban Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR) approved a
regulation for the activity of national travel agencies, which gives
them primacy in a group of tourist activities and services on the island.
Resolution 132/2021, published in the extraordinary Gaceta Oficial 46, indicates that national
travel agencies are the only ones authorized to carry out procedures such as
the issuance, reception and service of tourists, the representation of foreign
tour operators, and the design and marketing of tourist packages.
The regulation establishes that Cuban legal entities or
individuals that market services “made up of groups, programs, circuits,
excursions or other modalities, must do so through national travel agencies,
with the exception of those authorized to do so directly,” according to
the Agencia Cubana de Noticias (ACN) news agency.
The text also indicates that these agencies will be in charge of
tourist guide hiring and servicing, the leasing and sale of airline capacities,
the procedures for the extension of visas, and the selling of tourist cards.
According to the regulation, which will come into effect next
month, national travel agencies will also mediate in the sale of reservations
and services in all types of accommodation, transportation, insurance policies,
and non-hotel services.
In the same way, they are the only ones authorized to sell phone
cards, postcards, maps, and tourist guides, and they will be in charge of
organizing the programs of international events and meetings that take place in
Cuba, said the ACN in its report, according to which branches and
representations of foreign travel agencies on the island must contract all
services through national agencies, except accommodation capacities, which can
be done directly.
The regulation indicates that to create an agency of this type
requires the approval of the MINTUR, which will demand a description of the
activity, the draft statutes, and the economic feasibility study, as part of
the application.
The report, on the other hand, does not specify the nature of
these agencies, if only the state agencies are considered or if agencies could
be created as a cooperative or by private initiative.
So far, a group of activities
for the non-state sector related to tourism is authorized, such as the rental
of rooms and gastronomic and transportation services, but it is not clear if
there will be new openings at least in the near future. This, despite the
demands of professional sectors, such as tourist guides, to carry out their
work autonomously, and the recent government measures to expand
self-employment.
National travel agencies to have primacy in tourist services in Cuba
