Jardines del Rey, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Cuba, to which the 35th International Tourism Fair, 2015, will be dedicated, ended the winter season with a 4% increase in visitors to the area.

Iyolexis Correa, representative of the Ministry of Tourism in Ciego de Ávila, 430 kilometers east of Havana, stated that during the period (November - April), the area received some 92,734 visitors, 3,600 more than the same period last year.

She also commented on an increase in the number of flights arriving at Jardines del Rey International Airport, reporting a record 40 arrivals per week from key markets, such as Canada, the United Kingdom and Argentina.

Correa added that 13% of visitors to the area were Canadian, reaffirming the country as Ciego de Ávila’s most important tourist market, followed by the UK and Argentina, while national tourism also increased. She stated that two new hotels – The Memories Flamenco and The Pestana Cayo Coco – run by Gaviota, were opened during the winter season, raising the total number of hotel rooms in Jardines del Rey to 5,916, adding that restoration and repair work to various sites has been carried out, as well as improvements to access routes and signage, enhancing the hotel group’s promotional potential.

A tourist train operates during the winter period, allowing visitors to travel to various recreational sites such as La Gaviota Mall, while improvements to Playa Pilar have also been made, among other actions.

Speaking to Juventud Rebelde, Edelkis Rodríguez Moya, director of development for the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment’s (Citma) Environmental Research Center in Villa Clara, commented on the visible recovery of species of fish, sea beds, vegetation, coral reefs and mangroves under the Special Use and Protection Policy, which covers the area – covering an area from Caibarién to the costal border with Sancti Spíritus, in the northeast of Villa Clara.

Moya emphasized that these achievements come as a result of the banning of indiscriminate fishing and boats anchoring in the keys, enforced for over a decade now. Only lobster and sponge fishing, and recreational sport fishing - with a line and hook from the shore - are permitted within the keys, as they do not negatively impact the marine environment. She also emphasized that, in the Special Policy zone, fishing is only permitted 1.8 kilometers from the coast.
Fishing with large nets - banned in the country a few years ago - caused damage to the sea beds and vegetation, which are now gradually recovering.

In addition, this massive and indiscriminate method often results in the capture of young or developing fish, making it difficult for the population to recover.