Havana - FITCuba 2016, the 36th International Tourism Fair, which concludes today in Havana, has been one of the most successful due to the growing interest in visiting the island. The the fair has captured the interest of tour operators, travel agents, hotel managers and carriers from several dozen countries, who see Cuba as a vacation destination of choice.

This year the fair was dedicated to Havana as a destination, Canada as the guest country and culture as a product.

The major hotel chains in the island, among them Cubanacan, Gran Caribe, Islazul, Gaviota, Habaguanex, and others linked with the Ministry of Tourism, presented their product at the fair.

Cuba currently has 62,090 rooms in 360 hotels (68 percent four and five-star hotels) throughout the country, plus other 18,742 in the private sector, a total of 80,832 rooms nationwide.

About 13,688 new rooms will be built for 2016, especially for those seeking sun and sea.

The government has approved 26 joint ventures, 69 management contracts and 18 international chains. The private sector has 1,915 houses and 15,061 rooms.

Cuban hotel development plans to reach, by 2030, a total of 134,300 rooms out of a potential 273,500 (the maximum possible for the Cuban hotel industry), according to expert estimates.