Cuba receives 3 million foreign tourists so far in 2017

Cuba announced Tuesday that it had received 3 million foreign tourists so far in 2017, according to the Ministry of Tourism.


Speaking to a parliamentary commission, Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero said that this growth showed that tourism was sustaining its strong improvement as one of the pillars of the national economy.

The 3 million target was reached 75 days earlier than in 2016, marking a growth of 24 percent in the number of foreign holidaymakers coming to Cuba, the ministry wrote in a statement.

The main markets from which tourists come to Cuba are the US, despite restrictions on Americans travelling to the island, Canada, Spain, France, Italy and Germany.

In the first half of 2017, Cuba received 1.5 billion US dollars in revenue from foreign tourism, 9 percent more than in the same stage in 2016.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, Cuba is hoping to receive 4.7 million foreign tourists for all of 2017, 16.5 percent more than in 2016, the year in which Cuba first passed the 4 million bar.

Marrero also told the commission that the island should receive 5 million visitors in 2018, while he urged the rapid construction of 100,000 new hotel rooms by 2030.
  [Xinhua/globaltimes.cn]
26/7/17