Cuba reopens its doors to international tourism to oxygenate its battered economy

Cuba reopens its doors to international tourism on Monday, heading towards the new normal, seeking to oxygenate its battered economy, which is going through the most serious crisis in three decades due to the impact of the pandemic, the reinforcement of the United States embargo and ineffective management.

The long-awaited reopening coincides with the celebrations for the 502 anniversary of Havana, the return to the classrooms of elementary school students and the convocation of the archipelago opposition platform for a civic protest march that seeks a political change on the island.

The process of de-escalation of the most restrictive measures applied in the country for the epidemiological scenario caused by the coronavirus is attributed by its authorities to the mass vaccination program against COVID-19 that provides for the immunization of 90% of the Cuban population by the end of month.

With a current sustained trend to reduce infections and deaths from the disease after a strong outbreak since the beginning of the year, the country has resumed in recent weeks public transport services, hospitality, gastronomy, most cultural activities and the rent of private accommodation. Additionally, students are progressively returning to classrooms.

Cuba reaches the total reopening of its borders this November 15 with a relaxation of the measures established for the most complicated epidemiological scenario of the pandemic and the objective of reversing the decline in the tourism sector, the second source of foreign currency income for its impoverished economy.

Reopening protocol

Starting this Monday, all passengers who have received a vaccine recognized by the health authorities of their country of origin and children under 12 years of age will be able to enter the country without a negative test or quarantine.

Non-vaccinated travelers will be asked to present the negative result of a PCR sample or antigen test from a certified laboratory in the country of origin issued within 72 hours prior to arrival in Cuba.

But if an international traveler presents “signs and symptoms of COVID-19 or another communicable disease”, they will be referred to a health institution where a diagnostic test will be carried out, the Cuban health authorities explained.

The sanitary provisions of the reopening exonerate children under 12 years of age, regardless of their nationality, from showing a vaccination schedule or a PCR test upon arrival.

They also maintain measures such as taking the temperature of all travelers when entering and leaving the country, the mandatory use of a mask and disinfectant solutions for hands, as well as presenting the COVID-19 Medical Insurance.

More flights

At the same time, a gradual increase in air operations at the island’s ten international airports is expected, from the current 63 flights per week to more than 400 by the end of the month, according to the estimates of the Ministry of Transport.

At this time, it is expected that 147 flights from the United States will arrive in different Cuban cities, where the largest community of Cuban emigrants abroad lives, and of that number 77 will be destined for the José Martí International Airport in Havana.

The archipelago’s maritime borders have also scheduled the rehabilitation of their terminals to resume cruise visits next December.

The Caribbean country suspended commercial and charter flights in April 2020 to stop the expansion of the coronavirus and in October of that year it reopened the airports, but with a drastic reduction in flights, limiting them to those from the US, Mexico, Panama. , Bahamas, Haiti, Dominican Republic and Colombia.

Visitor forecasts

Cuban tourism authorities expect to receive more than 100,000 international tourists by the end of the year.

Before the Covid arrived in Cuba in March 2020, tourism contributed around 10% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and ranked second in importance for the economy, behind only professional services.

The projections of receiving in 2020 about 4.5 million international visitors and reversing the fall of 9.3% of 2019, when 4.2 million tourists traveled to the country, disappeared with the pandemic. In the first half of 2021, only 114,460 international travelers arrived in the country, 88% less than in the same period of the previous year.

In this last stage, Russian tourism was at the head of the visits, followed by that of Cubans residing in other countries, Germans, Spanish and Canadians.

The sector’s contraction for more than a year and a half served to revive and remodel facilities, and also for the construction of new hotels in Havana, the eastern province of Holguín and Varadero, Cuba’s main sun and beach resort.

Thus, more than 4,000 new rooms will be added to the hotel plant of some 70,000 rooms for the reopening, while the government’s plans foresee that by 2030 the island will have more than 103,000. (I)