The year 2016 witnessed more than four million visitors, a record number in Cuban Tourism, as confirmed by Dalila Alba González, deputy director of marketing for the Ministry of Tourism (Mintur). This means an increase of 13% in comparison to 2015.
To quote the Deputy Director, ‘that growth rate of the number of tourists has been maintained during the whole year. During the first trimester, more than one and a half million guests have visited the country which represents a 15% increase with the same cycle as the previous year. It must be noted that in March of this year, one week before, we welcomed the one millionth guest.’
One of the main source markets remains North America, with a total of 45% of visitors coming to the country. Canada holds the top position, in terms of the number of tourists while the United States is rising considerably in spite of the boundaries imposed by the trade embargo. In addition, the Old World adds up to 33% of foreign tourism where Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom are the most significant markets. Only 16% of the tourism market is occupied by Latin America. In the next fifteen years, as per the prediction of the experts, the number of tourists staying in hotels will increase three times, with a potential of 10 million tourists every year generating more than 9,000 million dollars.