Travelucion Records Monthly Sales in February 2017 of over $192,000
Sen. Jerry Moran (Rep) Introduces Legislation to Restore Trade with Cuba
Alfredo Manresa Appointed as Director
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 22, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cuba Ventures Corp. (TSX-V: CUV ) (OTCBB: MPSFF ) (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the company’s CEO Steve Marshall has signed an exclusive agreement with Tyrval, a world supplier to the hotel and hospitality industry. Republican Senator for Kansas Jerry Moran introduces legislation to lift the Cuban embargo. The travel division of the company had a very strong month in February, usually Cuba’s low season, of $192,000. Alfredo Manresa joins the board of directors.
Cuba Ventures signs exclusive agreement with major Hotel industry supplier Tyrval
The Company is pleased to announce that it has entered into an exclusive agreement for the Island of Cuba with Tyrval, the world eminent supplier to the Hotel & hospitality industry, currently represented in USA, Panama, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka, Aruba, Jamaica, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Bahamas, St Martin, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Colombia, Cape Verde, France and Spain. Tyrval is an exclusive supplier of LG Electronics, Hotel room equipment and decoration, industrial restaurant equipment, including dining room fittings and fixtures, indoor and outdoor furniture, lighting and other hotel related hardware. Cuba’s hotel infrastructure is experiencing a major upgrade due to the advent of increased tourism, with over 4 million arrivals in 2016. Cuba Ventures' consulting division has identified a need for such synergies to assist its Cuban hotel partners with the upgrade of partial or complete hotels, common areas and guest accommodations. Tyrval is the preeminent company for offering turnkey solutions and one-stop purchasing for partial or complete interior and exterior upgrades of Cuban hotels. The company anticipates providing Tyrval with a minimum 1 USD million dollar turnover by 2018 under a contracted minimum of a 5% commission structure. Steve Marshall, the company’s CEO commented, “ Due to our positioning in the Cuba travel industry we have our finger on the pulse for planned hotel upgrades across the island. Furthermore, the unprecedented decision taken by the Cuban government to allow Iberostar Hotels to freely import goods for their hotels in Cuba is a trend that is likely to spread across the whole hotel management sphere on the island. Previously, all imports to Cuba were administered by the Cuban government. The hotel equipment industry in Cuba is potentially a billion dollar industry and, as tourism continues to increase, existing hotels need to be modernized and new hotels are built. ” Tyrval CEO Jordi Tomas Romero stated, “ Tyrval has long considered an entrance into the Cuban hospitality market, having supplied extensively to hotel chains in the Caribbean region since 1993. The travel division of Cuba Ventures Corp, Travelucion, works alongside all hotels in Cuba on a day-to-day basis, therefore, key market intelligence is gleaned, allowing Cuba Ventures to gain a head-start when proposing our products to hotels looking to upgrade or, for complete hotel refurbishments or, as new hotels come on line. As our exclusive partner in Cuba, we consider Cuba Ventures Corp as the sole alternative. ”
Monthly Sales in February 2017:
The Company booked over CDN $192,000 in unaudited net sales for the month of February 2017. January's sales show the strength of the Company's robust travel services, even in the historically slow Cuban travel month of February. Increased interest in Cuba, along with heightened media attention in the United States surrounding the Company’s Cuba-centric digital media platform, including 432 websites focused upon Cuba, is stimulating these increased revenues. Visitors to the Company’s websites from the United States now represent 36.8% of the approximately 37 million annual page views, up from 6% in 2014.
Sen. Jerry Moran (Rep) Introduces Legislation to Restore Trade with Cuba
In an unprecedented move, on March 13 th Republican Senator Jerry Moran introduced legislation to the US senate known as; The Cuba Trade Act of 2017 ( S. 472 ) to Lift the Cuba trade embargo and allow U.S. financial institutions the freedom to extend credit to Cuba.
http://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/...-with-cuba
http://krvn.com/agricultural/video-sen-moran-...with-cuba/
Nearly 150 U.S. organizations have voiced their strong support for common sense reforms to U.S.-Cuba relations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Association of Wheat Growers, Engage Cuba and the U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba (USACC). The senator from Kansas is keen to see U.S farmers sell agricultural commodities to Cuba as the U.S farm belt states suffer the worst economic crisis since the great depression.
Another key Cuba trade proponent Sonny Perdue was chosen by the president as the Agriculture Secretary position. Sonny Perdue, the then governor of Georgia visited Cuba in 2010 to promote free trade with the island nation. The company’s CEO Steve Marshall visited Capitol Hill earlier this month, meeting with key supporters of this legislation “Engage Cuba” and the office of congressman Adriano Espaillat (R).
Alfredo Manresa Appointed Director
The company is pleased to announce that Alfredo Manresa Ruiz has joined the board of directors. Mr. Manresa has served as a key advisor to the company since March 22, 2016. Alfredo is a seasoned banking professional and manager. Alfredo worked for Spain’s CAM Bank (now Sabadell) between 1989 - 2012 in varied high level positions, including branch and regional management positions in Europe and Latin America. Alfredo was the founding manager of CAM Bank in Havana, Cuba. During his tenure as Regional Bank Director in Havana, Alfredo handled over 80 million Euros annually in loans and investment and was certified for financial operations by the National Bank of Cuba. Alfredo’s extensive knowledge of the Cuban banking and financial system brings an important addition to Cuba Ventures board of directors. Under the helm of Alfredo, the Havana branch he managed earned the award of best CAM Bank International Branch in 2003, 2004 and 2005, surpassing notable national branches in Miami, London, Paris and Mexico. Fluent in Spanish and English, in addition to an accomplished career in the corporate and private banking world, Alfredo will be a strong advisory asset for upcoming financial dealings and investments in Cuba, employing his knowledge and experience of the inner workings of Cuba’s financial system and banking regulations.
Resignation of Donald Huston
The company announced today that Donald Huston has resigned from Cuba Ventures board of directors effective March 16, 2017. Donald Huston has provided valuable insight and assistance as the company has acquired assets and expanded as a company. Cuba Ventures Chairman, Jim Petitt, said, "We thank Mr. Huston for his service to the company and wish him success in his future endeavours."
Cuba Ventures in the Media
Cuba Ventures CEO Steve Marshall Interviewed on Telemundo news Washington DC (Spanish):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc48Z2AGpUQ
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.
Cuba Ventures consulting division harnesses over 60 years of combined advisor experience in submitting and, obtaining approval, for joint ventures, joint production agreements and import/export permits for foreign enterprises. More recently the company has taken a royalty approach for future agreements between third parties anxious to begin comercial operations with Cuba and, the company’s Cuba Consulting Unit.
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 . The Company has 72,412,487 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.
