The International Tourism Fair is the most significant professional event held annually by the Cuban tourism industry. The current edition, FITCUBA 2025, will be held from May 30 to 3 in Havana, at the Morro - Cabaña Complex. Without further ado, feel welcome to this important event that will show, through the infinite benefits of the destination, that Cuba is Unique.
History:
At the beginning of the second half of the 20th century, Cuba laid the foundations for the establishment of tourism with a social character that would provide the opportunity to combine recreation and leisure in a single act in a healthy, enriching and instructive way. It is then that this activity begins to take shape in view of a sustained and sustainable development.
The year 1959 marked the beginning of a maxim of Cuban tourism: to promote the natural, cultural and historical attractions of the Island in order to leave behind the stigma that Cuba was a prolific site for the development of vice and gambling. Work began with a new vision and actions were implemented to restructure Cuba\'s tourism system.
The first international event related to tourism in Cuba took place in Havana from October 17 to 24, 1959, and was the Ninth Convention of Tourism Agents (ASTA). More than 2,000 agents from 82 countries, accompanied by their families, visited the Cuban capital. Unprecedented figures in the eight conventions held previously.
In 1963, the Empresa de Turismo Nacional e Internacional (ETNI) was founded, a direct antecedent of the Cubatur S.A. Travel Agency, in charge of attending to the incipient tourism that was beginning to see the island as an interesting destination. It was not until 1980 that Cubatur convened the I Cubatur Travel Convention, held at the emblematic Habana Libre Hotel in the Cuban capital. The event aroused international interest, attracting the participation of more than 300 delegates and representatives of more than 200 travel agencies from around the world.
Subsequently, the meeting began to achieve greater relevance and international acceptance. Since its inception, it has been held every year and alternated venues between Havana and the Varadero beach resort. The event had several names: Cubatur Travel Convention, Travel Trade Show Cubatur, Tourism Convention, until it was finally called International Tourism Fair of Cuba (FITCuba).
These annual meetings, based on debate and negotiation, have allowed Cuba\'s tourism industry to follow truly flourishing steps since its beginnings. The International Tourism Fair has considerably boosted the plurality and quality of the products and services offered, which has had a favorable impact on the evident growth of vacationers\' arrivals to the island.
From 2005 to 2011, the Morro-Cabaña Historical Park was the official venue of FITCuba. This complex, made up of the Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro and the San Carlos de La Cabaña Fortress, is part of Havana\'s System of Fortifications and was declared a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. In addition, a guest country is previously selected and the event is dedicated to a specific tourism modality.
The Cuban Ministry of Tourism, organizer of the event, as part of its strategic policy in the sector, decided to bring the International Tourism Fair closer to the destinations it wishes to promote. Thus, the fair was held in 2012 in Cayo Santa María, belonging to the keys of the province of Villa Clara; in 2013 in Varadero; in 2014 in Havana; in 2015 in Cayo Coco and Guillermo in Jardines del Rey; it returned to Havana in 2016, the year it was declared a Wonder City.
In its 37th edition in 2017, FITCuba took place in Holguín, with the Pesquero Hotel in Guardalavaca as venue; and in 2018, as it is a region generously benefited by nature and the beauty of its beaches, it returns to the Northern Keys of Villa Clara.
Havana, a fascinating city that will soon celebrate its 500th anniversary, is hosting this year\'s 39th edition of the International Tourism Fair, FITCuba 2019, which will be held at the San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress, an 18th-century construction that is part of the Historic Center of Old Havana and its Colonial Fortification System, declared Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 1982.
FITCuba has managed to position itself as the main professional event of the Cuban tourism industry, becoming an ideal space for contact between specialists, executives and tourism companies with a presence in Cuba. It has made it possible to outline strategies, policies and actions in the tourism market; to become familiar with Cuban destinations and products, as well as to learn about the culture and tourism of the guest country.