From the 2021 period to this year, there has been a surge in the number of foreign tourists visiting Cuba with the number nearly sixfold but remains below pre-pandemic levels.
This was made known by the Cuban government last week.
According to Hindustan Times, officials say they are hoping to see more Russian tourists once flights cancelled because of Covid-19 and the Ukraine war are restored this year.
The National Statistics Office (ONEI) said 834,891 tourists visited the island from January through July, compared to 141,293 visits in the first seven months of 2021.
International tourism represents Cuba’s second-leading economic activity, after the sale of medical services but the pandemic, along with continuing travel curbs from the US, saw the numbers collapse in 2020 and 2021.
The total number of foreign visitors plunged from 4.2 million in 2019 to one million a year later. But with Covid-19 under better control, Cuban authorities hope to hit 2.5 million visits this year. The Communist-ruled country is counting in particular on a revival of tourism from Russia, which in 2020 and 2021 displaced Canada as the largest source of foreign visitors.
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