More than 250 thousand tourists arrived in Cuba in January. predictions are not met

At the end of last January, Cuba received 259,898 tourists, a figure representing an increase of 104% compared to the same period in 2023. According to the EFE news agency, this figure is lower than that recorded in 2019 (47%). Before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The National Office for Statistics and Information (ONEI) reported on this topic. It turns out that the above figures imply a slight improvement in international tourism in the middle of the high season.

However, if this trend continues for the rest of the year, there will be around 3 million visitors by the end of 2023. Once again, plans drawn up by the tourism sector on the island will not come to fruition. The estimated plan for the current year is 3.2 million.

In January, Canada (127,172) emerged as the main source of tourists to Cuba. Then Russia (22,272) and the Cuban community abroad (21,910) come on the list. In this order, the inter-annual growth points are 98.2%, 216.8% and 88.2%.

increase in air connectivity

One of the tourism strategies in Cuba to attract more visitors is to promote the development of air connections. However, the current situation on the island differs significantly from other similar destinations in the Caribbean region. For example, Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) and Cancún (Mexico) have recorded historically maximum numbers of visitors in these months following the crisis caused by the pandemic.

The island received 2.4 million international visitors in 2023. This figure means an increase of more than 800 thousand visitors compared to 2022 (1.6 million). However, the projected targets could not be achieved.

These days it came to light that Blue Diamond Resorts Company will open three new hotels in Holguín province. But that’s not all, its officials assure that they will maintain this destination with high hotel occupancy throughout the year.