{"id":298678,"date":"2024-03-24T09:31:34","date_gmt":"2024-03-24T13:31:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=298678"},"modified":"2024-03-24T09:31:34","modified_gmt":"2024-03-24T13:31:34","slug":"cuba-more-than-half-a-million-international-visitors-until-february","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/cuba-more-than-half-a-million-international-visitors-until-february\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuba: more than half a million international visitors until February"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cuba received 528,099 <\/span>tourists until February<\/b><\/a>, with Canadian travelers playing a strong role; they accounted for almost half, as reported this Friday by the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI).<\/span><\/p>\n

The island also adds 637,957 \u201ctravelers\u201d until the second month. Regarding the number of tourists, or \u201cinternational visitors,\u201d as the ONEI describes them, it represents 24% of the Cuban government\u2019s objective of 3.2 million tourists by 2024, according to EFE.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the visitors in February, the 261,016 travelers from Canada, the main issuing country, stood out, followed by Russia (43,864) \u2015 which doubles its contribution \u2015, the United States (28,288) and Germany (13,414).<\/span><\/p>\n

For its part, Spain, traditionally among the top five issuing markets, falls to ninth position with 8,710 travelers, behind France, England, Mexico and Italy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cuban community abroad continues to gain importance in this sector and with 46,080 people it becomes the second issuing group (despite suffering a drop compared to the same month of 2023).<\/span><\/p>\n

In January, ONEI had recorded the arrival of 259,898 visitors; therefore, with the February figure, the increase was only about 8,303 travelers.<\/span><\/p>\n

3.2 million tourists by 2024?<\/b><\/p>\n

The government has set the goal of receiving 3.2 million tourists this year and thus advance in the recovery of the sector until reaching pre-pandemic levels, around 4.5 million tourists.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cuba has been going through a serious crisis for years and tourism is key to the government\u2019s economic plans, due to its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) and the entry of foreign currency it represents, traditionally only behind professional services and remittances.<\/span><\/p>\n

To achieve this figure, the Ministry of Tourism has proposed a strategy that has among its fundamental challenges the growth of direct air connections to the island.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dos vuelos desde Reino Unido conectar\u00e1n con Cayo Coco y Holgu\u00edn en mayo<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n