The tourist destination Jardines del Rey (King's Gardens), in the north of eastern Ciego de Avila province, is gaining ground on Cuba's tourist agenda after recovering from the havoc caused by Hurricane Irma recently.

Jardines del Rey, which reported a record number of holidaymakers in 2017, is one of the most promising and fastest-growing tourist destinations, not only in Cuba but also in the Caribbean region.

The region's major tourist-sending markets are Canada and the United Kingdom, followed by Russia, Portugal and Argentina, with an increase in air operations to about 100 international flights and others that connect the region with other parts of Cuba.

According to legend, the exuberant nature on Cayo Coco, Cayo Guillermo and Paredon Grande made Conqueror Diego Velazquez name this region after Spanish King Ferdinand the Catholic.

The largest islet, Cayo Coco, ranks fourth in extension in the Cuban archipelago, and has an area of 370 square kilometers and the additional attraction of 22 kilometers of excellent beaches that are complemented by mangroves and coconut trees.

Cayo Guillermo is one of the smallest keys in the region, with an area of 18 square kilometers, although it has abundant flora that includes species like mahogany, mastic and savin trees.

Its territory offers five kilometers of beautiful beaches, one of which, El Pilar, was named after the yacht of the famous U.S. novelist Ernest Hemingway and has dunes that are up to 16 meters high.

Jardines del Rey, one of Cuba's most visited coastal resorts, has 7,720 rooms in hotels that are run by world-renowned chains like Sol Meliá, Iberostar, Pestana, Acor, Memories and the group Sercotel.

Precisely, Iberostar Hotels and Resorts increased its presence in Jardines del Rey, where it administers five establishments.

The chain's latest acquisition was Cayo Coco's Hotel Colonial, the first facility inaugurated on the northern keys of Ciego de Avila province on November 12, 1993.

The five-star hotel is on Playa Larga and offers 458 rooms that are distributed into 23 blocks, each of which was named after a flower.

The region's tourist infrastructure is growing fast, and the objective is to have more than 20,000 rooms, in addition to a modern airport, ports, nautical bases, natural parks and, of course, ecotourism programs.

Nearby, there is a 400-kilometer-long coral reef, which experts consider the world's second most important, after the one in Australia, where visitors can enjoy scuba diving and snorkeling in warm waters with an excellent visibility.