HAVANA: Arrivals of foreign tourists in Cuba have increased 17 per cent so far this year over the same period in 2014, Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero said.
THE additional visitors have come mainly from Canada, Britain, Spain, Mexico, France and Italy, the minister said in remarks following the inauguration of the new home of the Tourism School at the University of Havana.
In response to growing demand for tourist accommodation in the Cuban capital, the ministry has launched a development strategy that includes the construction of new hotels and the renovation of existing establishments, he said.
Cuba received 2.19 million foreign visitors in the first six months of 2015, according to the most recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics and Information.
Tourism, Cuba’s second largest source of income after professional services, generated $US1.7 billion ($A2.42 billion) in the first half of the year, compared with $US2.7 billion during all of 2014.
A record three million foreign tourists visited Cuba in 2014 and officials expect that total to increase this year.
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