VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 12, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cuba Ventures Corp. (TSX-V: CUV ) (OTCBB: MPSFF ) (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the Company has engaged Think Tank Labs to overhaul 166 of the company’s websites to modernize their design, technology and SEO specifications. The aim is to make the websites more visually appealing while ensuring a superior user experience. Further, Cuba Ventures’ CEO, Steve Marshall has also been interviewed by the US media giant Fox News at both their San Francisco and Sacramento studios.
Update of 96 Cuban City, Town, Province and Destination Websites:
Travelucion Media, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cuba Ventures Corp, will use Think Tank Labs Inc. of Vancouver, Canada, to update 96 of its Cuban City, Town, Province and Destination websites. This major update will conclude by January 31 st , 2017. These websites have served for over two decades as informational portals for specific popular destinations in Cuba following the strategy of “one-website-one-destination”. These specific destination websites are a unique and notable source of information for travelers visiting Cuba and generate significant web traffic, which is currently channeled to the Company’s e-commerce websites and revenue generating online sales divisions. The strategy, which commenced in the 1990s, was to create a self-sustaining lead generation network to engender proprietary web traffic, negating the need for expensive pay-per-click (PPC) marketing, and thus, preserving high gross profit margins. This is the first major update of these immensely popular websites in over a decade which should increase visitor numbers and exceed the current significant volumes of highly targeted Cuba focused web visitors. The website update will be undertaken by Canada’s preeminent Think Tank Labs Inc. A large increase in traffic is expected to be one of the most visited sources of information concerning Cuba on the web. Visitors to these websites, from United States based IP addresses, rose from 6% in 2014 to 38.6% in 2016 and continues to grow.
Furthermore, in the second round of updates beginning in February 2017, the aforementioned websites will also be upgraded to e-commerce, revenue generating websites, permitting direct sales of specific hotels, services and tours for each city or destination directly from the homepage of each site. This secondary update will closely follow the content and design update of all cited websites, thus converting each destination website into a powerful, destination specific, e-commerce revenue generating booking platform.
A complete list of websites currently being updated by Think Tank Labs Inc. is:
http://www.travelucion.com/world-news/travelu...-websites/
Update of 68 E-Commerce and Booking Websites:
Cuba Ventures owns and operates 68 online travel booking and e-commerce websites focused on Cuba. Each website is focused on a specific geographic market and published in 6 languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Chinese). These legacy websites built in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s are the current sources of Cuba travel-related, e-commerce revenue for the company. A major overhaul is underway of the entire booking platform and visual aspects of these websites to bring them in-line with current market trends. Beyond a highly superior design, the booking platform is being overhauled to include numerous worldwide currencies, extra hotel properties, bespoke services and travel packages, as well as over 4,000 private residences that cover the length and breadth of the island. The Company currently offers 350 private homes and B&B’s only in Havana. This is the first major update of these websites in over a decade and is expected to increase revenues while creating a booking process which is consistent with current trends and visual appeal.
A complete list of Cuba Ventures’ e-commerce websites can be found here:
https://www.cubaventures.com/assets/docs/trav...erties.pdf
Anyone wishing to monitor the update of the e-commerce websites in real-time may contact our investor relations team for the live link.
Launch of CubaHavana.com and CubaLaHabana.com:
Havana is the epicenter of interest for World Travelers and North American visitors to Cuba. These valuable domain names will be put to work to educate people looking to travel to Havana. Beyond offering information on places to see, things to do and weekly events in Havana, these websites will become the central source of information about this enthralling Caribbean city. As with our other city websites, these are to be upgraded to become fully operational booking websites offering Havana-specific hotel accommodation, car rentals, classic car rides, private residences / B&B’s and other services in Havana.
Cuba Ventures in the News:
Cuba Ventures has been showcased in the mainstream media as of late, especially in regards to travel relations between the US and Cuba. Last week, Cuba Ventures’ CEO, Steve Marshall sat down with Fox News in both San Francisco and Sacramento.
Cuba Ventures CEO Steve Marshall appears on Fox News San Francisco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjNdYWWyN68
Cuba Ventures CEO Steve Marshall appears on Fox News Sacramento: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a322Vf3Idhw&a...e=youtu.be
About Cuba Ventures Corp.:
Cuba Ventures Corp. is a publicly traded Canadian company capitalizing on the growth and unique opportunities in the USD $3.5 billion per year Cuban travel and tourism industry. Travelucion, a wholly owned subsidiary, is a digital media and marketing company which owns a vast portfolio of Cuba related websites and online portals providing travel information, featuring individual web assets for Cuba's popular cities and towns, online booking solutions and online reservations through proprietary software, catering to international visitors to Cuba. Travelucion's online travel division is a duly licensed retail travel supplier handling millions of dollars in sales annually.
Travelucion's 432 Cuba focused multilingual websites generate over 30 million page-views per year, directing traffic to the company's online booking and e-commerce sites. These online websites cover all facets of Cuba including over 80 travel destinations, hotels & resorts, bed & breakfast, tours, car rentals, restaurants, as well as Cuban culture, history, music, celebrities, sports, medical treatments and more.
Travelucion's revenues have been rapidly growing in the wake of the notable shift in American policy towards Cuba. With diplomatic relations now normalized and restrictions on qualified American travel to Cuba relaxed, opening of the multi-billion dollar travel market to the Caribbean nation is becoming a reality. Travelucion's continued media dominance over the past two decades has provided Cuba Ventures with a competitive advantage in the burgeoning Cuba travel and online media space. With the relaxing of rules for American travelers to Cuba and the potential of further easing, growth and investment opportunities are on the rise in Cuba.
For further information on Cuba Ventures Corp. (TSX-V: CUV ) or Travelucion visit the Company’s website at www.cubaventures.com or www.travelucion.com . Cuba Ventures Corp. has approx. 62.6 million shares issued and outstanding.
CUBA VENTURES CORP.
STEVE MARSHALL ______________________________ Steve Marshall CEO
For further information contact myself or: Nick Findler Cuba Ventures Corp. Telephone: 604-639-3850 Toll Free: 800-567-8181 Facsimile: 604-687-3119 Email: info@cubaventures.com
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.
