US-Cuba travel summit to be held in Cancun

CUBA: Representatives of the US and Cuban travel sectors will meet at a summit to discuss the potential for travel between the two countries.

The meeting will be held in Cancun, Mexico, on March 24-26, Cuban News Agency Prensa Latina reported on Thursday.

The event is organized by Alamar Associates in association with the National Tour Association (NTA) and is sponsored by The United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA), said the report.

These summits "have proven useful and successful in providing US company executives practical information about how to do business in Cuba and whom to contact," said Kirby Jones, president of Alamar Associates, a Washington-based consulting firm that provides services to companies interested in doing business with Cuba.

At a press conference, Jones also stressed the need to restore the US citizens' right to travel freely, something guaranteed by their Constitution.

Jones said the summit will see positive contacts between businessmen from the United States and Cuba. They would discuss possible cooperation after the eventual end of the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed on Cuba by the United States some 50 years ago, Jones added.

Miguel Figueras, a senior Cuban Tourism Ministry adviser, stressed that Cuba was the safest destination for tourists from the United States. HAVANA Friday, Xinhua