The Cuban tourist sector, full of attractions thanks to the country’s natural richness, culture, history and traditions, is adding new options to contribute an added value to the leisure industry.
Gastronomic options together with movie, literature and plastic arts events are combined with first-class sport competitions to generate additional alternatives in which golf stands out as a new component.
In western Cuba, the main Cuban beach resort has the Varadero Golf Club which is characterized by an environment of fresh air, vegetation and peace, which are all essential elements to practice the sport.
The facility is built on the Peñas de San Bernardino where many years ago the millionaire Irenne Du Pont de Nemours set up a nine-hole golf court for private use, in an exclusive area of 180 hectares just a few meters away from the coast line in one of the best beaches of the world.
The court was designed by the architect Les Furber, president of the Canadian company Golf Design Services, in a combination of styles including the classic one with wide streets which are well defined by trees and wide greens without much protection.
There is also the so called target golf, with narrow streets and well protected greens, surrounded by sand traps and inner lakes of sea water which communicate directly with the sea, a feature not commonly seen in the world.
The abovementioned environment will be supported by the agreement between Cuba and the British company Esencia Group; the project is aimed at building a second golf court in Varadero with an investment close to 350 million dollars.
The complex also includes a community with 650 houses and apartments, a hotel and a country club with tennis courts and options for nautical tourism.
The medium- and long-term plans include the construction of 16 golf courts across Cuba with an estimate investment of 1.5 billion dollars.
Thus, Cuba is getting ready to compete against other important tourist destinations in the Caribbean which already have several facilities to play golf.
In order to develop the sport, Cuba will have to compete against tourist resorts like Cancun and the Maya Riviera in Mexico, and Dominican Republic, which already have about 50 certified golf courts.
In this sense, the island is including additional attractions which represent an incentive for those visiting the different tourist destinations in the country.
The emergence of new facilities will strengthen Cuba’s position in the exclusive group of countries which have this service as part of the tourist infrastructure, and will open the door to the inclusion of the island in the Caribbean golf circuits.