Cuba Visited by Three Million Tourists this Year

Cuba has been visited so far in 2015 by three million foreign visitors, which represents a 18 percent growth compared to the same period last year, said today the Ministry of Tourism (Mintur). Canada continues as the leading tourism source with more than 1,110,000 tourists, which represents a 13-percent increase, said the source.

The main European markets are the second largest tourism source, accounting together for a 25 percent increase, said Mintur's report.

According to Mintur, the increase is caused by the new scenario in the country, the ongoing work to improve the quality of products and services, the support given by other sectors of the domestic economy and the priority given by the Government to the promotion of tourism.

Despite the progress, tourism has been severely damaged by the blockade set by the United States since the losses in just one year (from April 2014 to April 2015) totaled $ 1.5 billion USD, as Cuba has stated at the United Nations (UN).

Even when agreements between the governments of Cuba and the United States have set favorable conditions for a significant increase in the US citizens' visits, the ban on tourist travels to Cuba continues, said the report.

If the regulations of the blockade were lifted, Cuba would benefit from the 140 cruise ships operating weekly in the Caribbean area, the main market of which is the US citizens, said the report reviewed at UN.