Cuba passes four million tourist arrival milestone
Cuba has welcomed its four millionth tourist arrival this year, up 23% so far says the Tourism Ministry.
The four million milestone was passed 54 days earlier than in 2016, it said.
The ministry has set a target of 4.7 million visitors from overseas by the end of 2017 and five million for 2018.
Cuba is now entering its traditional tourism high season, buoyed by the recent reopening of resorts in the northern keys of Santa Maria, Guillermo and Coco, some of which suffered extensive hurricane damage.
The numbers showed ‘the continuous increase of those who choose our country as a destination’ the ministry stated.
Now the second largest contributor to GDP, tourism spending was up 9% in the first six months of 2017, to $1.5 billion.
The Cuban government says the number of Americans is significantly up, although Canada reains the biggest market, generating more than a third of all arrivals.
One black spot for the industry was news of a fatal shark attack just offshore last week.
A 22-year old man died after a late night swim just meters from Guardalavaca Beach near Holguin.
Shark attacks are extremely rare in Cuban waters with the last deadly attack occurring 60 years ago.
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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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