HAVANA, Cuba, Nov 8 (ACN) The sustained work of the San Cristóbal travel agency, run by the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, reveals the success of a responsible tourism management that is mindful of both the region and Cuban cultural heritage and accessible to people with disabilities.
“For the past four years, the agency has worked on projects for disabled people, such as Cultura entre las manos (Culture between the hands) with the deaf community,” Orlando Ramos Blanco, president of that entity, told ACN. “We strive to develop products and services focused on these persons because of their social connotation, but also because in this case demand exceeds supply.”
Accessible tourism is a business opportunity, as more than 15 million people in the world, many of them from first-world countries, have some form of disability. It is therefore a promising market, as these tourists avoid seasonality and usually travel with someone else, according to Mr. Ramos.
The Office of the Historian will participate in a panel at the IV Ibero-American Summit on Accessible Tourism—to be held at Havana’s Hotel Nacional in December—where it will talk about Cuba’s experiences in the provision of tourism services for people with motor, sensory and cognitive disabilities.
For the upcoming anniversary of the city, a mobile application will be launched to display the life and work of Eusebio Leal and his bond with the historic section of the city and allow people with visual and hearing disabilities to enjoy Leal’s tours around the streets of Old Havana, as it will include Braille facilities and videos in sign language.
Mr. Ramos highlighted the efforts of the Office of the Historian and the agency to promote and support businesses and enterprises in Havana’s historic heart.
Founded in 1995, the San Cristobal travel agency, the only one in the country specialized in historic and patrimonial tourism, supports the economic sustainability of the process for the integral rehabilitation of Havana’s Historic Section.