Cuba Cancels Habanos Festival—Again
For the second consecutive year, the Habanos Festival has been cancelled due to the pandemic.
Habanos just posted on its website that the show is officially off, due to concerns over the new spread of Covid-19. “Habanos S.A. has been working to celebrate the 23rd Habanos Festival, scheduled for February 2022, but we are forced to cancel said celebration due to the new … situation of the Coronavirus in the world," read the statement.
The Festival is a yearly gathering put on by Cuban cigar monopoly Habanos S.A. that brings retailers, distributors and enthusiasts together from all over the world to convene in Havana for a cultural and commercial celebration of the Cuban cigar.
The Habanos Festival now joins Nicaragua’s Puro Sabor, which was cancelled for the second consecutive time as well.
The Habanos Festival is an unusual time of year for the Cuban cigar industry. Normally guarded and closed off to the public, Cuba’s cigar factories—and a few select tobacco farms—open up to tours and field trips. There are seminars and cigar dinners, and Habanos uses the platform to introduce new products. Part of the allure also includes shopping at the many Casa del Habano shops throughout Havana where Cuban cigars are less expensive than any other market in the world.
Like last year, Habanos will most likely have another virtual event to introduce its upcoming products, though it should be noted that none of the cigars announced for 2021 have been released, nor have the majority of the products announced in 2020 come to market either.
All hope for cigar festivals is not lost. The ProCigar Festival in the Dominican Republic is still scheduled to take place in February.
