China air link with Cuba a tourism coup

CUBA GOT  a head start on attracting big spending  Chinese tourists to the region, with the launch of a  new air link between Beijing and Havana.

China, is already the main source of global tourists, but Latin America and the Caribbean are areas little known to travelers from the Asian power.
The flight of the airline Air China took off from Beijing International Airport on Sunday December 27.and opens a new route into Latin America for Chinese tourists who are the biggest spenders during their travels, according to the World Tourism Organization.
This is the first direct communication between the world’s second biggest  economy and the Caribbean, as well as the first line between China and Latin America operated by an airline of the Asian country. There are flights to Mexico and Brazil managed by foreign companies.
It is expected that the fact that the flight is performed by a national company will generate more confidence and interest of Chinese citizens.
The Boeing 777 arrived in Havana  on  Sunday at 8.15 pm  , after  19 and a half hour flight and a technical refueling stop in Montreal (Canada).
The flight seeks to change the tourist dynamics of the Chinese, who prefer to travel through Asia and Europe rather than America.

If they they go to the Americas, they usually opt for visiting  the United States. For most the rest of the continent is still unknown.

Betting on a flight between China and Cuba is no coincidence, said Cuba’s ambassador to China, Alberto Jesus Fernando Silva, who praised the “long-standing friendship” between the two countries, at a launch  ceremony organized by the Cuban legation and Air China in Beijing airport.

Diplomatic and cultural ties between China and Cuba date back to 1960, when it was the first Latin American country to establish relations with the Communist regime of Mao Zedong.
The Cuban ambassador predicted that this flight will increase the arrival of “Chinese tourists and business” to the island and many other Latin American countries seeking to become known in China.

Could Tocumen, the Hub of the Americas, be next?