Havana, Cuba.-The 12th International Seminar on Journalism and Tourism has began sessions today in this capital, in times that the leisure industry in the island is showing a strengthening and the media devotes more attention to its benefits.

Hilda Prieto, organizer of the event, said that about 60 journalists from 10 countries, including those from this nation, are registered for this event scheduled until June 30.

Prieto, a Cuban television journalist, stated that the lectures and talks are in charge of renowned specialists and academicians, who will provide updated information on the situation of this industry on the island.

This meeting will be hosted by the Jose Marti International Institute of Journalism, headquartered in Havana, prepared by the circle of the specialized press in tourism of the Association of Cuban Journalists (UPEC).

Cuba’s tourist interest is in frank growth judging by the volume of visits to this archipelago, which already receives more than four million foreign vacationers per year.

The main issue of the event is the sustainable development of tourism: a global challenge to the effects of climate change, an issue that is in line with the ideas of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) about this issue.

The WTO was declared in 2017 as Sustainable Tourism Year.

According to the organizers, the Seminar will be an occasion to reflect on strategies of the tourism industry in the Caribbean and in the rest of the continent, in accordance with the current trends in the protection of the environment.

Attendees have scheduled visits to places of interest such as the Old Havana, the Rum Museum, the Bodeguita del Medio restaurant, the Iberostar Parque Central Hotel and the Hotel Nacional, among others.