Cuba Is Emerging As A Tourist Paradise For The Gay Community

Cuba Is Emerging As A Tourist Paradise For The Gay Community / EFE, 14ymedio
Posted on August 4, 2015

(EFE) – Amid the tourist boom that Cuba is experiencing, the island is
emerging as a destination for the gay community, where the first online
travel agency specializing in tours designed especially for the LGBTI
collective is operating.

The pioneers in this business have been responsible for Mi Cayito Cuba,

a web intermediary between the "gay friendly Cuban private initiative
and customers in the world," said the director Alain Castillo, a Cuban
living in Madrid.

"The Island has great potential as a space for coexistence. We are open
to all, we believe in a liberal and tolerant place where respect is
valued," says this young entrepreneur of 35 who wants to work "on
visibility and improving the collective "(LGBTI) in his country.

Mi Cayito (on the east coast of Havana) is the name of what is probably
the only gay beach of the island, so Castillo thought it would be a good
idea to call his business that, and has been operating since August of
2014 with a virtual office in the Spanish capital and representatives in
Havana.

"It's vacation time. It's time for Cuba. The new gay paradise," we read
in the brochures that the initiative is promoting thrugh social networks
this summer.

The most popular destinations among users of Mi Cayito Cuba so far are
Havana, Viñales, a green paradise located in the western province of
Pinar del Río; and Varadero beach, said Castillo.

The website is only available in Spanish, though Castle says customers
have from Germany, USA, Russia, Spain and Latin America have used it,
and they can choose between tours such as Gay Havana or personal guided
tours that cost up to 120 euros.

More than two million foreign tourists arrived in Cuba so far this year,
a figure reached 39 days earlier than in 2014 which demonstrates the
appeal of the Caribbean destination, especially for visitors from
Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, United States and Argentina.

"Changes in Cuba have been an incentive and increased demand," said
Alain Castillo, who announced they prepare for a possible mass influx of
Americans, encouraged by the thaw in relations between Cuba and the US,
which on 20 July resumed diplomatic ties after more than 50 years of enmity.

Source: Cuba Is Emerging As A Tourist Paradise For The Gay Community /
EFE, 14ymedio | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/cuba-is-emerging-as-a-tourist-paradise-for-the-gay-community-efe-14ymedio/