added a fifth for this winter and summer 2000.
Thomson head of long-haul planning Phil Boggon said: “Sales so far have been steady. Our aim is to build up our programme steadily and cautiously, both for our sake and for the sake of the resort.”
Airtours, whose programme consists of 11 all-inclusive properties in Varadero, said the main attraction for its clients was Cuba’s value-for-money beach resorts.
Senior marketing manager long-haul Vicky Wilby said although some clients were interested in the island’s culture, most went for the all-inclusive option.
“We have tried selling B&B and room-only accommodation in the past, but there was not enough demand,” she added.
Operators featuring resorts other than Varadero include Cosmos, First Choice, Hayes and Jarvis, Sunworld, Unijet and Havanatour, Interchange and Captivating Cuba.
First Choice said its decision to add the relatively quiet resort of Guardalavaca to its winter programme for the first time this year was paying off as it was showing greater growth than Varadero.
Another area which is making an appearance in UK operators’ brochures is Cayo Coco, a small island off the north coast of Cuba.
Thirteen new hotels are planned for the area, which will also be served by its own international airport from 2001.
Cosmos is featuring Cayo Coco as a destination in its own right for the first time next year. It offers two all-inclusive properties, including a new hotel in Havana and three new all-inclusive properties in Varadero.
Sunworld will continue to feature its eight-night tour of the island’s cultural and historical highlights in its 2000 programme. Senior product manager Andrew Bevan said the Reflections of Cuba Tour was selling well.
“There are two markets for Cuba. One is looking for a value for money beach destination and the other is after the island’s culture,” he said. “We introduced the tour to give clients the option of spending a week on the beach and a week seeing the island.”
First Choice has also introduced a new tour for summer 2000 which starts from Guardalavaca and travels along the south coast to Havana. “We realised that people who would have preferred to stay in Gaurdalavaca were staying in Varadero instead as it is close enough to Havana to visit in a day, so we decided to introduce the tour from Guardalavaca,” said marketing manager Denise Hibbert.
Panorama said two-centre holidays combining Havana with Varadero account for a large slice of business for its dedicated Cuba programme.
For clients wanting to explore further afield, the operator also offers an eight-day Pearl of the Caribbean tour from £835 per person. Also available are island hopping options out of Santiago combining Cuba with the Bahamas, Cayman Islands or Dominican Republic.
Cuba specialist Havanatour can tailormake a range of twin-centres combining Cuba with the Caribbean and Central America.