Cuba received 1.44 million passengers in four months

Cuba From January to May this year, it received 1,441,362 international passengers, which is 177% more than in the same period in 2022, the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) reported this Friday.

The leading issuing market in these five months is Canada with 544,763 passengers, NOW (67,615), Russia (55,413), Germany (34,231), Spain (29,451), France (29,202), Great Britain (25,178), Italy (23,176) and Mexico (21,736). The number of Cubans living abroad who visited the country is 145,229 people.

In May, 223,967 travelers from abroad arrived on the island, in April 290,632, in March 328,394, in February 295,712 and in January 302,657. The high season in Cuba traditionally lasts from December to March.

Minister of Tourism, Juan Carlos Garcia Grandarecently explained that visits from Canada, the main source market, have recovered by 80%, while the arrival of visitors from Europe has slowed down due to “conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, rising fuel prices and the blockade (embargo) imposed by the US”.

The recovery of the sector is considered “vital” to oxygenate the island’s failing economy, which is going through one of the worst crises in decades and which has particularly hit this key sector, essential for gross domestic product (GDP) and foreign exchange earnings.

Actually, Cuba it has not yet managed to regain its pre-pandemic numbers, when it reached close to 5 million international travelers, when similar destinations in the region (Cancun, Dominican Republic) are recording all-time highs.

Cuba It has set a goal of reaching 3.5 million international tourists in 2023, a goal that industry officials admit is “very high” but say they are working towards that goal.

Up to that amount, it is only possible to keep the figures achieved in the first five months of this year, which are high season.

In 2022, 1.6 million people visited the island international travelers (divided into one million tourists and about 600,000 visiting Cubans abroad), below the target of 1.7 million – which began with an adjustment of the initial forecast of 2.5 million -, according to ONEI figures.