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Tourism is booming in Cuba

October 26, 2015

The thaw in relations between the US and Cuba has led to a marked increase in tourists visiting the country.

https://p.dw.com/p/1GuUF
Bildergalerie Kuba Impressionen Stadtansichten Havanna
Image: Reuters/Enrique De La Osa

The number of foreign tourists visiting Cuba has increased considerably. In the first nine months of this year, there was an 18 percent increase of tourists compared to 2014, according to the latest figures reported by ONEI, the country's national statistics office. During this period, some 2.6 million tourists traveled to Cuba, compared to 2.2.million the previous year.

The increase exceeds the global growth in this market sector, which was around four percent in the first half of this year, according to the World Tourism Organization UNWTO.

As before, Canadians make up the biggest group of tourists in Cuba. The UK is the second top country of origin of visitors. Germans, with some 116,000 visitors and an increase of 24 percent, form the third largest group.

Cuba has some 62,000 hotel rooms. In 2014, tourism accounted for an income of $2.6 billion (2.3 billion euros).

at/ak (dpa)