-DATE-
19890509
-YEAR-
1989
-DOCUMENT_TYPE-
APPEARANCE
-AUTHOR-
F.CASTRO
-HEADLINE-
CASTRO VISITS SAN JOSE DEL LAGO MOTEL
-PLACE-
SANCTI SPIRITUS
-SOURCE-
HAVANA TELEVISION SVC
-REPORT_NBR-
FBIS
-REPORT_DATE-
19890510
-TEXT-
Visits Sancti Spiritus

FL0905214889 Havana Television Service in Spanish 0000 GMT 9 May 89

[Text] After touring Ciego de Avila Province, Commander in Chief Fidel
Castro returned to Sancti Spiritus to visit the San Jose del Lago Motel, a
beautiful installation where health tourism is being developed.  There, the
leader of the Revolution received an extensive explanation of the natural
resources available in the place that can be used for therapeutic purposes.

[Begin Castro recording] I believe that more than tourism, the outlook
includes medical services in the country for people from abroad.  Some come
to receive extracorporeal litholapaxy treatments, others come to get
treatment for heart problems.  People also come to the Frank Pais Hospital.
Others have come to Hilda Molina's news institute on neurological cells
transplants.  This is growing.

Health tourists... [rephrases] Well, sometimes they are call health
tourists because they come and also receive medical services in a tourist
package.  I believe vitiligo treatment is one of the ones that attracts
more people although some clinics are being opened abroad in partnership
with some foreign institutions.  We were the ones who created the product.
Cuba was the country to create the product.  It is the most experienced in
this and this is why they are coming.  Services are being expanded abroad.
I believe health in general could be a large source of income in the
country.  This is the health tourist to which we generally refer.

I believe that the health tourism that is mentioned here is a kind of
domestic health tourism.  We have developed for a long time... [rephrases]
For example, we built a hotel in the (Guea).  It was improved.  Work has
also been done in San Diego de los Banos.  Some thermal waters have been
sought in Oriente.  Thermal waters have been looked for and a domestic
health tourism can be developed.  More than tourism it is a domestic health
service in reality, the prices that were noted here are for people whom
doctors have recommended to come here.  I think the domestic health tourism
has a future as well as the international health tourism in these areas.
The use of a place such as this one has to be studied so that the interest
is there and the possibilities can be seen.  In any event, it would be
shared between international and domestic health tourists.  This is
regarding thermal waters.

Of course, our main resources for tourism are the beaches.  In a way, the
beach is also considered health tourism because people go to rest and
recover.  We went to Cayo Coco yesterday and saw the beaches.  There are
excellent beaches there.  The key has great possibilities.  It is very
pretty.  We had the opportunity of going through the causeway under
construction.  It is at an advanced stage.  It can be crossed perfectly
well but some bridges need to be finished.  We put bridges...[rephrases]
bridges are placed so that water can go by for ecological reasons.  The
causeway has 22 bridges and a drawbridge.  Although the water is shallow
there, we do not want to close the possibility that a boat can cross it
from one place to the other.  This is why it has a floating bridge.  Many
possibilities can be seen there.

This has to be studied a lot.  I was even asking if this water can be
bottled or if there was enough water to bottle here or around here.  The
case may be that there is water around here with those possibilities.  This
is what we are thinking about.  I came to see it, I see that it is pretty.
The  place is well kept.  Construction has taken place and it is
continuing.  I already see ideas that are being worked on here.  I believe
it is very good.  [end recording]
-END-