Cuba to host international cigar festival
By IANSSunday, February 20, 2011
HAVANA - Cigar lovers will now get a chance to see how the famous Cuban cigars are being made as the organisers of the international cigar festival, which begins here Monday, plan tours for the visitors to the factories and tobacco growing areas in the country.
Over 1,000 visitors from 80 countries are expected to attend the 13th Havana Cigar Festival, Xinhua reported.
Activities such as visits to tobacco plantations and cigar factories, tasting of cigars with different beverages and trade fairs and seminars will be organised, said Ana Lopez, director marketing of Habanos Inc., a cigar company.
A lecture on the origin and evolution of the aluminum tubes associated with some of the famous Cuban cigar brands will be held, she said.
The event this time is devoted to honouring “the iconic brands of hand-twisted snuff of the island (like) ‘Montecristo’, ‘Partagas’ and ‘H. Upmann’”, she added.
Visitors can sample the new vitolas developed by seasoned industry experts that are to be released by the company on the occasion.
A gala dinner is also being organised at the end of the festival to honour the Montecristo brand, during which the “Cigar Man of the Year” will be chosen. Auction of humidors, boxes of cigars to keep them fresh, will also be held.
According to the World Trade Organization, more than 14 billion cigars are sold in the world annually, with the US consuming half of it.
