Hola Sun celebrates 25 years of Cuba holidays

Hola Sun Holidays marked 25 years of booking Cuba on Friday night (Sept. 16), welcoming the travel industry and dignitaries to an evening of celebrations.

“You’re the reason we’re here,” said Hola Sun Holidays President Juan Carlos Soto Garcia to a room full of travel agents and industry partners, following a reception and trade show.

Looking back on a quarter-century in the Canadian market, Soto Garcia told PAX that as the market has grown and evolved, so has the tour operator, while maintaining its original mandate to customers. Hola Sun’s growth was also profiled in the latest issue of PAX magazine.

“We started as a small agency in a very competitive market, and we’ve been growing,” Soto Garcia recalls. “Our mission is to continue to honour our slogan, to be the Cuba Specialist. We want to give our customers the best possible prices while offering what’s new.”

Juan Carlos Soto Garcia, president, Hola Sun Holidays

That evolution has seen Cuba rise in popularity as a destination for weddings and travellers looking for culture beyond the beach, Soto Garcia said, two markets that Hola Sun is actively pursuing.

New developments for the upcoming travel season highlighted in Hola Sun’s latest brochure include seven new resorts (Iberostar Bella Vista; Sercotel Cayo Santa Maria; Ocean Casa Del Mar & Ocean Vista Azul; Bravo Villa Coral by VOI Hotels; Villa Iguana by Gran Caribe; and Hotel Deauville & Hotel Vedado – Saint Johns), part of 100 properties offered in nine Cuba destinations.

For travel agents, Hola Sun has launched its new Vacation Account loyalty program, in which agents can now earn $10 per passenger to be used towards future travel with Hola Sun Holidays (full details are to be announced soon).

“It’s been twenty-five years in the market for us and we’re still growing,” Soto Garcia told PAX. “We hope to continue for at least another 25 years.”

Agents can access Hola Sun and Caribe Sol products at www.holacaribeagent.com.