Cuba outbound tourism market growing
While the focus so far has been on the potential for inbound tourism to Cuba from the US, the outbound market of Cubans travelling overseas is also booming.
Last year 355,000 Cubans travelled overseas on leisure trips, up 23.7% compared to 2013 according to official data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
The increase was a direct result of Cuba’s own unilateral easing of travel restrictions in 2013 under an immigration reform law established by President Raul Castro.
The government did not disclose which destinations are most popular for Cubans.
Visas are still a necessity for travel abroad to most countries, except for states such as Russia and in the Caribbean.
The US Customs Department also recorded a big increase in the number of Cuban migrants entering the US in the months following the restoration of diplomatic relations between Havana and Washington DC last December.
Between January and March 2015 more than 9,000 Cubans came to the US, an increase of 118% compared to the same period in 2014.
US-Cuba relations took another step toward normalization last week with the reopening of the US embassy in Havana after a gap of more than half a century.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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