The growth of tourism in Cuba is in the spotlight, especially considering the expectation created from the restoration of relations with the US with respect to the arrival of American visitors and investment projects in this sector.
In this context, the Cuban Ministry of Tourism announced through a press release that on March 21 the country surpassed the figure of one million visitors, eleven days earlier than the previous year. These number corresponds to the first quarter of 2015, figure translated into a 14% growth in arrivals. The encouraging number of three million, a record for the annual influx of foreigners vacationing on the island, had been reached at the end of 2014.
The implementation and granting of 12 licenses authorizing US citizens to enter the Caribbean country has caused an increase of 29.5% in tourists from that nation. Meanwhile, other more established markets also show a positive trend, including Canada (12.6% growth), Germany (23.3%), France (22.8%), UK (30.6%), and Italy (10.8%).
It seems that the “premonition” of The New York Times, which pointed Cuba as one of the favorite destinations for this year, will be fulfilled. The information socialized by the Cuban state attributes this growth to the consolidation of new trade actions set prior the high tourism season.
More and more tourists involve more challenges to the products and services of Cuban tourism sector. Official media foresee that hotel capacities to increase to about 85,000 rooms over the next five years, while they are also working to ensure quality according to international standards. This means increasing by more than a third of the country’s hotel industry. To that end, the Ministry of Tourism has currently approved 67 management contracts with 17 foreign hotel chains.
Airlines, cruise companies and hotel chains reinforce their bet for Cuba. United Americas Shipping Services and Key West Express, two American shipping companies have shown interest in opening the cruise route between the US and Cuba.
Tourism, one of the main sectors providing currency to Cuba is in a time of growth where it must prove its ability to split and adopt new quality standards to meet a more and more demanding public.
