Cubans react to promotional images of foreign tourists in Varadero

The publication of promotional images of the Sol Palmeras hotel complex inVaradero, in which foreign tourists are seen enjoying cocktails on the beach, without keeping a safe distance or wearing masks, provoked the indignant reaction of many Cubans on social networks.

In the midst of the worst coronavirus peak recorded on the island since the pandemic began, Cuban hotel facilities promote the influx of foreign tourists with images that leave much to be desired in terms of compliance with the health protocols adopted by the country's health authorities.

“The employee exposing himself and if he becomes infected by taking it to his place of residence and family. “This is how the contagion spread to Cárdenas and look what it cost, and is costing,” considered a Facebook user in the publication of the images of the tourists in Varadero, collected on the social networks ofCyberCuba, in which an employee is seen preparing cocktails on the beach.

“How cute, without nasabuco, everyone there together and no one fines them or condemns them for spreading the epidemic! And the stubborn Cuban, unable to even go to a river. If they catch you without a mask, a fine of 1000 pesos; and if you are in a group, they keep you from seeing the sun for a while,” lamented another Internet user outraged by the images.

“And COVID-19, happy and content: more Cubans for the gap, children, pregnant women and everyone, together for the gap... COVID-19 will never end in Cuba. Those who have to take care of themselves are the Cubans, and protect themselves,” added the commentator, one of the almost 800 Cubans who have expressed the feelings and reflections that the images provoked.

“That is why the virus is not ending in Matanzas,” said another social media user. His opinion is that of many Cubans who have also criticized on several occasions the advertising images of tourists in Varadero, used by the authorities to promote the influx of foreign tourists to an island that they present as having low epidemiological risk, as well as medical potential.

At the beginning of July, images published on social media profiles showed tourists from Russia and Canada staying in facilities at the Cuban resort of Varadero,enjoying in style in the province with the highest number of infections in the country.

While the collapse of its health infrastructure and a growing and alarming number of infections were recorded in Matanzas, in the images of their stay in Cuba, travelers were seen strolling on motor yachts, surrounded by people, or enjoying the music of soneros. Cubans who do not respect the distance recommended by health authorities to prevent the spread of the virus nor are they seen wearing a mask.

The non-compliance by tourists with the protocols that the authorities dictate for Cubans worries citizens due to the number of employees in the sector who return home after work and can infect their family and friends. Nor is it understood that failure to comply with these measures is punished in the case of Cubans and not in that of foreigners.

For their part, the Cuban authorities have not reported whether the tourism workers who serve these groups of foreigners have been previously immunized with the Cuban vaccine candidates, or if they are taking exceptional health measures to prevent the spread.

“Is there no COVID-19 there, or is it that the only ones who transmit it are Cubans abroad?” asked another user, referring to the measures adopted by the authorities to prevent the spread of the virus and that force Cuban travelers returning from abroadto undergo a rigorous quarantine in hotels, without leaving his room. Furthermore, at the beginning of July,The Cuban government suspended the entry of national tourists to hotels in Varadero, according to official sources.

"Check this out; and the people dying because of the dictatorship that does nothing for them. At the same time, the dictatorship was looking for dollars for their pockets. For that there is no blockade because there is everything there, in the hotels. And the people without food and being in misery,” indicated one Internet user, an idea that was repeated by many others outraged by the irresponsibility of the regime.

The situation is not new and reflects the dilemma in which the Cuban regime finds itself, needing in extremis the arrival of international tourism to hotels co-managed by the Cuban military and foreign hotel companies, such as Meliá; at the same time trying to control the spread of different variants and strains of the virus on the island to normalize the situation and reactivate an economy highly dependent on tourism.