MIAMI, United States. – In the context of the 40th International Tourism Fair FITCuba 2022, Comercializadora de Servicios Médicos Cubanos S.A. and Cubanacán Group signed an agreement to promote health tourism in the island, according to a May 4th report published on the official site Cubadebate.
The agreement was signed by Cubanacán president, Jorge Alberto García, and the president of Servicios Médicos, Yamila de Armas Águila.
“The idea is, for example, that tourists can enjoy one of the best beaches in the world while at the same time receive their hemodialysis treatment in a safe way,” stated the president of Servicios Médicos to the official press.
Cubanacán’s marketing director, Alexis Llanes Álvarez, specified that with respect to Havana, the medical attention will be provided at Centro Internacional de Saud La Pradera, which operates jointly with the Comodoro and the Chateau Miramar hotels. In Varadero, medical services to foreign tourists will be provided at Clínica Internacional and at the Tuxpan and Brisas del Caribe hotels.
According to Cubadebate, the new agreement includes longer-stay programs to provide “quality of life” at Ciénaga de Zapata.
Those services “are aimed at older clients who decide to leave cold and aggressive climates by traveling for more that 40 days at a time, long periods that require medical services in the place where they will be staying,” explained de Armas Águila.
“For that purpose, our group provides all its infrastructure, including logistics and medical insurance to all the programs being implemented,” explained Cubanacán’s president during the signing ceremony. “This agreement is a priority for Cuba,” he added.
In late 2021, it was learnt that the Spanish hotel chain Meliá and Empresa Comercializadora de Servicios Médicos Cubanos had signed an agreement to market health and wellness services to clients that stay at tourist facilities managed by the Spanish company in the island.
According to a press release published in the Travel Trade Caribbean webpage at the time, that is “an agreement of mutual benefit aimed at enabling quality of life and wellness options in hotel facilities.”
The Cuban government has been criticized frequently for providing better quality health care to foreign tourists, in detriment to Cuban nationals.
In a report published a little over a year ago on CubaNet, a team of our reporters assured the public that health tourism in the island is “paradise for foreigners”, in contrast with “hospitals, polyclinics, maternity centers and COVID-19 isolation facilities whose buildings lack basic maintenance on a regular basis.”
Recibe la información de CubaNet en tu celular a través de WhatsApp. Envíanos un mensaje con la palabra “CUBA” al teléfono +1 (786) 316-2072, también puedes suscribirte a nuestro boletín electrónico dando click aquí.
