Varadero, the best known sun and beach destination in Cuba, constitutes one of the most attractive tourist sites for national vacationers, being the second most important market for it. That is why, taking into account the importance for professionals in the sector to know the characteristics of the clients with whom they work in order to provide services that satisfy their needs, tastes and expectations, we propose a first version of the profile of the Cuban tourist who visits this beautiful beach, taking into account the experiences and opinions of 122 experts from the territory.
Abstract:
Varadero, the most popular sun and beach destiny of Cuba, constitutes one of the most attractive touristic places for the national vacationists, being this the second most important market for itself. Due to it, and taking into account the importance that for the tourism professionals has the knowlodgement of the clients features in order to give services that satisfy their needs, likes and expectations, we propose a first version of the Cuban tourist profile that visit this beautiful beach, taking into account the experiences and opinions of 122 experts of the territory.
Keywords: Profile of tourists, national tourism, preferences.
Key Words: Tourists profile, National tourism, preferences.
The Cuban archipelago is part of the Greater Antilles, it has 109,886 square kilometers, an insular platform of 70,000 square kilometers and more than 4,000 islands, keys and islets.
The island of Cuba has 104 556 km 2, its coasts reach 5746 km 2; 3209 km 2 on the north coast and 2537 km 2 on the south coast. 75% of the territory is made up of plains, 18% by mountains and the remaining 4% by coastal wetlands.
For its part, the Isla de la Junventud has 2 204 km 2 and 3 126 km 2 , the rest of the adjacent Keys.
As of 2011, Cuba has 15 provinces and a special municipality (La Isla de la Juventud) and a population of 11,240,841 inhabitants.
In 1959 the country had 7,728 hotel rooms, most of them in the capital, approximately 10% in Varadero and a smaller number in other cities. In that same year the Revolutionary Government created the National Institute of the Tourism Industry (INIT). In the 1960s, although tourists from Canada, Latin America and both Western and Eastern Europe would arrive, these housing capacities would also be based on the stimulation of students, workers and farmers through vacation plans.
In 1976, the National Institute of Tourism (INTUR) was founded, which would promote domestic tourism, in this way Cubans moved around the country on pleasure trips, it also fostered exchanges with socialist countries, so residents visited them. to Cuba and the Cubans traveled to them.
At this time the suspension of the prohibition of Cuban-American citizens to visit their relatives in Cuba, led to important arrivals and on the other hand, scientific and social meetings and congresses will be promoted. However, it should be noted that in these years, the sugar industry would continue to be the most economically important for the country.
In 1994, the Ministry of Tourism was founded (preceding the creation of Cubanacán in 1987 and the Gaviota Group in 1988) with the mission of projecting tourism development in the country that was immersed in a critical economic situation after the collapse of the Socialist Field. of Eastern Europe and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics that led Cuba to lose 80% of international trade, the arrivals of raw materials, spare parts and the importation of fuels are affected, among other things, which worsened even more because of the increase in the North American blockade. Thus, the Cuban State decides to open the country to international tourism to attract foreign exchange that would help continue with the country's development plans and preserve the progress made.
In this way, the accelerated development of tourism in Cuba begins in the 90s of the last century. All efforts were aimed at promoting this industry, achieving foreign investment, increasing housing capacities, making ourselves known abroad for our strengths, managing the arrival of tourists from distant markets, raising the preparation of our professionals at the same time and develop an infrastructure in correspondence with the proposed objectives. For all these reasons the promotion of domestic tourism would not be prioritized for obvious reasons. In this period, the most encouraged option was the enjoyment of Popular Camping and stays in tourist centers for national vanguards.
It is in 2008 when domestic tourism is encouraged again, Cubans will go again to traditional destinations known to nationals and then to others promoted in recent years, while still enjoying Popular Camping, which will continue to be the main option. for more than half of the vacationers.
CUBADEBATE, on April 9, citing the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), said that in 2012 a total of 1,477,422 Cuban tourists stayed in hotels or hired vacations and other services, a figure that exceeded that of 2011 when it reached 1,320,564.
Expanding on what was raised in CUBADEBATE, it can be specified that in 2012, 570 080 national vacationers stayed in hotels.
Similarly, CUBADEBATE in the aforementioned article states that national tourism left 124 million convertible pesos (CUC, equal to the dollar), 5.5% more than in the previous year.
The behavior of national tourism in the last three years can be seen in table 1 and graph 1.
Table 1. National tourists
| National Tourists | |||
| 2010 | 2011 | Variation% 2012
11/10 |
Variation%
11/12 |
| 1 160 034 | 1 320 564 113.8 1 477 422 | 111.8 | |
Source: Author's own elaboration with data taken from the ONEI of the Republic of Cuba.
Behavior of national tourism
Graph 1. Behavior of national tourism. Source: Prepared by the author.
According to the words of Manuel Marrero, Minister of Tourism of Cuba at FITCuba 2013, the country currently has 60,522 hotel rooms (65% four and five-star categories), with the development strategy of reaching 85,592 by 2020. rooms .
Varadero is the main tourist center for sun and beach in the country, located north of the province of Matanzas, 36 kilometers from the provincial capital and 142 from Havana.
It is the closest point to the United States, it has about 22 km of beaches, with fine white sands, bathed by crystal clear turquoise waters. It limits to the north with the Strait of Florida, to the south with the Bay of Cárdenas, to the east with the Cayería Sabana Camagüey, and to the west with the Bay of Matanzas.
At the end of 2012, it had 19,657 rooms (with a potential of 30,000), 86% of which corresponded to 4 and 5-star hotels. 96.0% of the available rooms were operated in the All Inclusive Mode. However, according to statements by the Cuban Minister of Tourism on May 7 at the opening of FITCuba 2013, Varadero has 50 hotels, 20,229 rooms and receives 44% of the tourists who visit the country.
This has always been a very attractive destination for national tourists, although they have begun to explore new places of tourist interest in the country given the offers made by different Travel Agencies, which can be seen in table 2 and graph 2.
Table 2. Number of physical tourists who visited Varadero
| Tourists who visited Varadero | ||||
| 2010 | 2011 | Variation%
11/10 |
2012 | Variation%
11/12 |
| 211 622 | 228 056 | 107.6 | 207 287 | 90.8 |
Source: Author's own elaboration with data provided by the Mintur Delegation
Arrivals of national tourists to Varadero
Graph 2. Arrivals of national tourists to Varadero. Source: Author's elaboration.
For this destination, the main source market is Canada with one million four hundred thousand tourists in 2012, Cuba being the second, although with a notable difference.
In previous works we have expressed the importance for professionals in the tourism industry, the constant improvement to be in a position to provide a better service and with our effort and dedication to satisfy the needs and expectations of customers, ensuring that in addition to feeling good, return in search of our products and services. That is why this time we decided to work on a first proposal of the profile of the national tourist who visits Varadero.
To carry out this research work, we have the collaboration of a group of university graduates who are studying the Basic Diploma in Hotel Management, who, grouped into various teams, based on specific guidelines and with a high sense of professionalism and responsibility, They traveled to various facilities in the territory, where, using different tools and methods, they selected experts, applied surveys and / or interviews, consolidated information and later presented the results in the presence of all the teams, reaching conclusions.
Table 3. Origin of the consulted specialists.
| Departments | Number of Experts |
| Quality | 8 |
| Commercial | 17 |
| R. Public | 7 |
| Reception | 2. 3 |
| Gastronomy | 3. 4 |
| Kitchen | two |
| Housekeeper | eleven |
| Animation | 7 |
| Pool Staff | 3 |
| Economy | 3 |
| Human Resources | two |
| Mintur Delegation Officials | 4 |
| Total | 122 |
Source: Author's own elaboration.
Of the 122 experts selected for the work, 118 work in 24% of the destination facilities and 4 as officials of the Mintur Delegation, their collaboration being of great value and without which it would not have been possible to arrive at the results that were show.
As a consequence of the hours of work in the exchange with the experts, more than 50 proposals for elements that characterize, in their opinion, national tourists could be listed, of which the most voted in the weighting, make up this first approximation to the profile of the Cuban tourist who visits Varadero that is exposed below:
- To book they use the tourist and AA.VV bureaus as a route. Their main motivations are leisure, recreation, fun, honeymoon and birthday celebrations, with attractive prices. They generally travel in pairs, family or groups of friends. On very few occasions they do it alone. Their sources of information are the AAVV tourism bureau and the recommendation of family and friends. They travel mainly in June, July, August and on weekends. Average stays are from 2 to 4 nights. The factor that most influences the decision-making to travel is the price. They are not faithful to a brand, destination or facility. They process complaints and suggestions through the Reception or Public Relations, but they usually express them also where the situation that bothers them arises.They complain about the variety and quality of the meals, the delay in arriving at the hotel (they want to enter from the morning), the problems with the collection when leaving, the slowness in the solution of maintenance problems and problems in the replacement of towels and lingerie. They eat two and three snacks a day. They have a very good appetite and eat everything. During meals you can not miss rice, salads, stew, meat or fish and pasta. They have a preference for beef, pork, and chicken. They cannot miss the cake and ice cream for dessert. They are drinkers of mineral water, beer, rum, whiskey and Tukola soft drink. They tend to hoard food and drinks, especially on the day of departure. The tourists who spend the most are those from Havana, followed by the residents of Mayabeque, Matanzas and Villa Clara.They are fun and very sociable people. They like to share with each other and with other Spanish-speaking clients. They are quickly identified when listening to the country's own music. They are excellent dancers. They are boisterous. Laughter and loud metal. Sometimes they violate and do not respect the safety and hygiene rules in the pool (they introduce food, drinks, glasses). They dislike perceiving that they are treated differently from foreigners. They recognize and appreciate the work of service providers. Among the topics of conversation they prefer are: sports, music, work, the economy, family and experiences in other hotels.Laughter and loud metal. Sometimes they violate and do not respect the safety and hygiene rules in the pool (they introduce food, drinks, glasses). They dislike perceiving that they are treated differently from foreigners. They recognize and appreciate the work of service providers. Among the topics of conversation they prefer are: sports, music, work, the economy, family and experiences in other hotels.Laughter and loud metal. Sometimes they violate and do not respect the safety and hygiene rules in the pool (they introduce food, drinks, glasses). They dislike perceiving that they are treated differently from foreigners. They recognize and appreciate the work of service providers. Among the topics of conversation they prefer are: sports, music, work, the economy, family and experiences in other hotels.
Permanent research on this topic is essential for the professional work of all service providers in this industry, regardless of the role they perform, some facing the client and others as planners and controllers of the activity, having to be convinced that without a Adequate preparation will not be in a position to fully fulfill their respective missions, so we urge you to keep this and others that already exist as reference material, enriching yourself with the wisdom provided by years of painstaking work.
In a next stage this profile will be validated and enriched with the opinions of a new expert group, incorporating other aspects that will be analyzed.
Sources consulted.
- (2012). Almost a million and a half Cubans made tourism in 2012. Available at: http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2013/04/09/casi-millony-medio-de-cubanos-hicieron-turismo-en-2012/. Consulted: April 2013 Estévez Pazó, R., Del Risco Yera, Y., Serrano Raffo, F. (s / a). Tourism planning and geography. Development in Cuba in the last 40 years. Institute of Physical Planning. Faculty of Geography, University of Havana Marrero Manuel. (2013). Words of the Minister of Tourism of Cuba at the opening of FITCuba 2013, Varadero, National Office of Statistics and Information of the Republic of Cuba. (2012). Main indicators of national tourism 2012.
