14ymedio/EFE, 20 August 2024 — Far from improving, or even maintaining, as happened with the June figures, tourism in Cuba continues to sink. In July, according to the report published on Tuesday by the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), 153,261 travelers from abroad arrived in the country, a figure similar to that in the same month of 2022, but 13.56% lower than last year, when 177,306 tourists were received.
Between January and July, a total of 1,463,097 international travelers entered, 26,230 fewer – 1.8% – than in the same period of the previous year. Although the largest market is still Canada – with 613,227 people – the North American country registers a fall in its travelers to the Island, and the same happens with other European countries, such as Spain, Italy and France.
In July 2023, the United States measure eliminating Europeans from the ESTA rapid visa eligibility who have been in Cuba since January 12, 2021 – the date on which the U.S. Administration included the Island on the list of state sponsors of terrorism – came into force, a reason that may be behind the decrease in European tourists.
Visits by Cubans living abroad also decreased by 14.4%: in 2023 there were 210,026 such visitors between January and July, in the same period this year there were 179,746.
On the other hand, visitors from Russia rose by 41%. With 123,358 travelers in the first seven months of 2024, it is still the second largest market, and with the bilateral agreements signed in the last two years, Russian tourism is expected to continue grow
