9 May 2016 - "Last week in Havana, Cuba, the governments of Aruba and Cuba signed a cooperative agreement with a focus on tourism,” announced Minister of Tourism, Transportation, Culture and the Primary Sector for Aruba Mr. Otmar Oduber.
It’s been close to a year since discussions began between the departments of foreign affairs of both countries, and are now continued with this official visit from Minister Oduber and a delegation consisting of the director of the Aruba Tourism Authority, Mrs. Ronella Tjin Asjoe-Croes, director of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Edwin Abath, advisors to the minister and executives from the Aruba Tourism Authority, among others.
During the visit, the delegation spoke with the government official overseeing tourism, the Vice Minister of Transportation for Cuba Mrs. Naima Alfonso Acosta on the potential to create a route for cruise ships specifically between these two countries, as well as other countries in the southernmost region of the Caribbean.
The initial discussions with the head of tourism began months back. The topics of interest they will continue to focus on include a Dual Destination Program and the strengthening of knowledge in the fields of managing cruise facilities, inclusive of marketing strategies to attract visitors. These initiatives will be driven through job platforms between the two countries. There is interest on Cuba’s part to exchange knowledge with Aruba based on Aruba’s storied success in the field of managing strategies and cruise facilities.
