Tourism in Cuba, a key element in the recuperation of the domestic economy, benefits from a health system aimed at achieving excellence and based on three decades of experience and research.

In the Caribbean Island, tourism is combined with medical treatments to improve the quality of life, including such procedures as thalassotherapy, which takes advantage of the fact that the country is surrounded by water.

Thalassotherapy is based on the simultaneous use of the marine environment (wind, water and climate) and other resources such as mud, sand and algae with therapeutic ends.

Hydromassage, special showers, bathtubs and other treatments have thermal, mechanic and biochemical effects and contribute to the efficacy of treatments, providing options to complement leisure.

In essence, experts say that thalassotherapy consists of using different climatic and hydrotherapeutic factors while staying close to the sea, thus benefiting health.

That way, the variety and beauty of Cuban beaches also provides great therapeutic possibilities that combine the movement of the water, temperature, diluted salts and even the bacterial flora of the sea.

Using this method, experts treat respiratory and cardiovascular ailments, as well as osteomuscular, dermatological, infectious, metabolic and rheumatic affections, among others.

Bathing in sea water is beneficial when a disease has gone into remission, to mitigate the sequels of traumatism, after surgery on the locomotive system, and against orthopedic affections, chronic rheumatism and poliomyelitis, among other ailments.

The experts say that the marine climate has stimulating effects due to its luminosity and the substances diluted in the water, in addition to working as a sedative under special conditions of temperature and humidity.

The prestige and experience earned by Cuba's health system attract thousands of foreign vacationers who come to the Caribbean Island every year to benefit from a wide range of curative and preventive medical programs, many of which take advantage of the country's mild climate and beautiful nature.

In addition to international clinics, pharmacies, opticians' shops and institutions specialized in improving the quality of life in major tourist destinations throughout the country, Cuba offers a broad medical infrastructure.

More than 280 hospitals, 400 policlinics, 116 dental clinics and some 1,500 institutions make up a broad network that can meet the most complex requirements to improve human health.