Cuba’s Ministry of Transport is considering building a new, modern cruise terminal at Cienfuegos to facilitate the growing number of cruise tourists to this country. Alan Lam reports.
In August this year alone, more than 30 cruise liners called at ports outside of Havana, in Central and South Cuba, the highest number since the country opened to international cruise tourism in 1996.
For the coming season, so far Cienfuegos has secured 53 cruise calls: 37 of them will be berthing at the facilities near the historic centre of the city; the remaining 16 ships will need to drop anchor in open waters near the Rancho Luna beach.
According to the Ministry of Transport, of 125 cruise calls last season, 28 were made at Olimpia Medina terminal of Cienfuegos.
By volume, Cienfuegos is the second largest cruise port in Cuba. It is a convenient entry point for most Cuban attractions outside of Havana, such as the UNESCO world heritage city of Trinidad.