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The first ever the International Convention on Tourism Studies will be held in Havana from the 12th - 16th July 2010 with the participation of 14 nations and 150 Cuban representatives who will be exploring the latest issues affecting the tourism industry.

The growth of Cuba holidays will be one of the main topics to be explored during the first ever International Convention on Tourism Studies, which will run from 12th July through to the 16th at Havana's Convention Centre.

On behalf of the professional teachers attending the convention, Ramon Martin, Dean of the Faculty of Tourism of the University of Havana (UH), announced that, so far, 168 delegates and experts from 14 nations and 150 from Cuba have confirmed their attendance.

Martin also went on to explain that themes on the agenda will include where the future of Cuba holidays is heading, tourism of congresses, organisation and management, trips and incentives, commercialisation and technological innovation, among others.

A total of 65 papers on various tourism topics will be debated, and there will also be lectures, round tables and a trade fair, as well as the presentation of the 3rd Hall of Events, the International Seminar on Tourism and Trips and the 5th International Workshop on Training.

The programme will also include visits to Las Terrazas community, on Cuba's western Pinar del Rio province, and to the famous and ever-popular Varadero beach resort, one of the main destinations world travellers head to when taking Cuba holidays. Both are excellent spots for recreation and relaxation.

The meeting is being organised by Cuba'sTourism Ministry (MINTUR), the Convention Centre and the UH and its main aim, besides exploring the potential and future of Cuba holidays is to educate and be educated through their interaction with participating countries. Thus Cuba expects to teach as well as be taught, and gain fresh knowledge and perspective from different nations, their different approaches to tourism and hear their predictions for the travel and tourism sector.

Around the days in which the International Convention on Tourism Studies will be held Cuba will also be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the beginning of tourism studies at the University of Havana, a member of the event’s Organising Committee revealed.

The Caribbean island's tourism infrastructure currently accounts with some 300 Cuba hotels and 50,000 rooms, eight areas for recreational development and over two million foreign visitors a year. Further development resorts and the addition of new hotels are also on the pipeline for the near future.