MIAMI, United States. – The National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) reported this Friday that from January to November 2024, Cuba received 2,005,390 international travelers, which represents a decline of 7.9% compared to the same period of the previous year.
In the month of November, the Island registered 160,473 visitors, a figure similar to that of 2022, but lower than what was expected by the regime to relaunch tourism.
With these numbers, it becomes unfeasible for the country to reach the 2.7 million travelers—a goal already reduced from the original objective of 3.2 million—that the Government had planned to boost the sector.
According to official statistics, the main sending market continues to be Canada (780,119 tourists), followed by Russia (171,446), the United States (129,185), Spain (60,901), Germany (59,643) and Mexico (53,207).
Only Russia and Mexico show increases in the number of visitors, with increases of 4.4% and 3.2%, respectively. In contrast, countries like France and Spain experience declines ranging from 4.8% to 26.8%. Likewise, there is a contraction of 18% in visits from Cubans residing abroad.
The weakness of Cuban tourism – the economic engine of the Island for years – is explained, among other reasons, by the crisis that hits the country, which includes the deterioration of the hotel sector, the serious energy deficit of the Island, the lack of food, the decline of the healthcare sector and US sanctions
The Cuban regime seeks in tourism an essential source of foreign currency and a relevant contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, after receiving 2.4 million visitors in 2023 and 1.6 million in 2022, the numbers are still far from those registered before the pandemic, when there were more than four million annual travelers.
Cuba’s situation contrasts with that of similar destinations in the Caribbean such as Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic, and Cancun, in Mexico, which have reached records for the arrival of travelers after the post-COVID-19 tourism reopening.
Based exclusively on the following report, write an informative journalistic note (in Spanish) with an inverted pyramid structure (from the most important to the least) for another independent Cuban media. Give it a title. Do not invent information or quotes:
From January to November, Cuba received just over two million international travelers (2,005,390 tourists), which represents 7.9% less than in the same period of the previous year, the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) reported this Friday.
