In response to official knowledge, Cuba’s tourism trade is on the street to restoration, with over 1.1 million worldwide guests within the first 5 months of the yr.
The Caribbean Island welcomed 1,174,888 worldwide vacationers by the tip of Might, marking a 102.7 p.c improve in comparison with the identical interval in 2023. This equated to 30,954 extra guests than the earlier yr, because the Nationwide Workplace of Statistics and Info (ONEI) reported.
The ONEI report said that Canada remained Cuba’s prime supply of worldwide vacationers, adopted by the Cuban group overseas, america, Russia, and the UK.
The information introduced signifies that the Cuban tourism trade is beginning to get better from the impression of the COVID-19 pandemic regardless of working underneath irregular situations. These situations are because of the unilateral restrictions imposed by the U.S. blockade, which have considerably affected the tourism trade. Nevertheless, the trade has proven resilience and is making strides in direction of restoration.
In 2023, the tourism sector within the Caribbean Island skilled a 50 p.c progress in comparison with the earlier yr. Nevertheless, based on official knowledge, it didn’t attain the pre-COVID-19 ranges of tourism.
Consultants are optimistic about the way forward for the Cuban tourism trade, seeing Chinese language tourism as a key marketplace for restoration. This optimism is supported by a number of components, together with Air China’s resumption of direct air operations to Cuba, visa exemption for Chinese language residents with unusual passports, and the choice to dedicate the 2025 Worldwide Tourism Honest to China.
Whereas the Caribbean Island is understood for its’solar and seashore tourism,’ the Ministry of Tourism has additionally developed particular presents for Chinese language vacationers. These presents are targeted on historical past, heritage, and tradition, amongst different actions, to cater to the particular pursuits of Chinese language vacationers and encourage them to discover past the normal ‘solar and seashore’ points of interest.
Cuba has the potential to turn out to be an important platform within the Caribbean area for Chinese language guests to interact in “multi-destination” tourism, permitting them to discover different areas of vacationer curiosity.
Official figures point out that by the tip of 2019, Cuba had welcomed roughly 45,000 Chinese language vacationers, rating it thirteenth among the many nations of origin for vacationers visiting the Caribbean nation.
Tourism is the island’s major overseas foreign money supply, second solely to the export of medical providers. Additionally it is thought of a sector that stimulates different areas of the native financial system.
Cuban authorities have estimated that roughly 3.5 million overseas vacationers will arrive by the tip of 2024.
