Tourists visit the Plaza de la Revolucion. Photo: Cubadebate.
At the end of July, Cuba took another step to reach the first million tourists, reaching 834,891 received, The National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) reported 693,592 more international visitors compared to the same period last year.
The ONEI publication highlights that top issuing countries included Canada, United States, Spain, Russia, Germany, England, France, Italy and Mexico.
In total, 1,200,580 travelers visited the largest of the Antilles in the first seven months of the year, a 552.3% growth compared to the same phase in 2021.
Cuba is aiming to reach 2.5 million tourists this yeara goal that the authorities have not given up, despite the fact that time to achieve it is short and the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic is not reaching the expected levels.
This is a vital sector for the island as it provides fresh foreign exchange to the economy it badly needs, Deputy Prime Minister and Head of Economy and Planning Alejandro Gil told Parliament last July.
The ONEI report considers the following:
- Traveller: Any person traveling between two or more different countries. If the person moves out of their country of residence, they are considered international regardless of the reason for travel or the means of transport.
- International visitors: persons who visit a country other than their country of habitual residence for a period not exceeding one year and whose main reason is for leisure, recreation, business or other personal reasons and is not in work in the country visited.
Source: tourism. Arrival of international travelers and visitors July 2022. ONEI.
(With information from Prensa Latina)