A total of 573,944 Travellers international visited Cuba in 2021, 60% less than the previous year, the official press reported this Sunday based on data from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI).
The country, which opened its borders in mid-November after the closure forced by the pandemic, has in tourism its second largest item of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its second source of foreign currency.
The number of visitors represents just over a quarter of the official projection at the beginning of the year, which was around 2.2 million visitors, and far from the between 4 and 5 million annual tourists in the years prior to the pandemic.
The travelers came mainly from Russia, with 146,151 people (25%), the only country that maintained the number of visitors to Cuba. Canada, the Cuban community abroad and Spain followed.
The Ministry of Economy and Planning estimates that some 2.5 million international visitors will travel to the island this year, who should contribute some US$1,159 million (US$1,012 million) to the Cuban economy.
The state tourism sector expects to end this year with 84,906 hotel rooms, 5.7% more than the previous year, despite the pandemic.
Cuba is going through a serious economic crisis due to Covid-19, the tightening of US economic sanctions and national management errors.
Source: Gestion
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