Ambassador Bueno with Regency Travel and Tours chief executive officer Tareq Adullatif Taha during the press conference yesterday
The Cuban embassy in Qatar yesterday launched ‘Autentica Cuba’ - a campaign  to promote the Latin American country as a new tourist destination for Qataris and residents.
“Presently around one hundred people from Qatar and the UAE travel to Cuba annually. We need to increase this number and that is why we are providing visitors with visas from here,” Cuban ambassador to Qatar Armando Vergara Bueno said at a press conference held at his residence yesterday.
He mentioned that from among Arab countries the highest number of visitors to Cuba come from Lebanon.
“The majority of visitors come from Canada, followed by the UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Russia, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, in that order,” he said.
The ambassador said that last year, some 2,117,317, international tourists visited the country, a 7.3% increase over the previous year. There were around 194,000 kids and 430,000 people aged over 60 years.
“The country plans to increase the number of tourists to some 2,900,000, this year because Cuba is a destination for all, be it young or old,” ambassador Bueno said.
According to him, apart from attractive sites and beaches, Cuba has a lot more to offer. “It has museums and expos where people can get souvenirs such as handicrafts. The country is also safe,” he said.
About major events scheduled to take place in Cuba, the ambassador mentioned Fitcuba (International Tourism Fair) which is from May 7-10, 2013 in Varadero Resort and will be dedicated to Brazil.
He urged people from Qatar to attend the event.
This year’s Fitcuba was held from May 8-11 in Cayo, Santa Maria and was dedicated to Argentina, he mentioned.
The ambassador urged people to visit Cuba saying that the travel requirements were not that complicated. 
The charge for the visa is QR245.
“A person wishing to visit Cuba gets a tourist card document for one entry, valid for stay in Cuba for 30 days. This can be renewed for 30 days. It is also valid for use by the tourist over a period of 180 days and it is a loose visa, because we don’t affix stamps on the passport. Qatar nationals and expatriates can visit Cuba,” ambassador Bueno stated.
He said that Cuba has a total of 128,626 hotel rooms of which 63% are in four- and five-stars hotels.
He added that even though there are no direct flights to Cuba from Qatar, airlines like KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Virgin Atlanta are offering connecting flights to various destinations on the island.
The ambassador mentioned that the number of Cuban nationals in Qatar is growing with 25 staying with their families, some married to other nationalities and over 200 more working in the Cuban Hospital in Dukhan, which was opened early this year.
“The Cuban hospital in Dukhan is a commitment for us as we are also promoting Cuba as a health destination because we have many highly skilled people in Cuba,” he said.