14ymedio, Madrid, 22 March 2024 — Little by little, the plan for Russian tourism to grow is having an effect. International visitors coming from the friendly country this February were on the verge of reaching the number of Cubans residing abroad, according to data published by the National Office of Statistics and Information (Onei), after having even surpassed that number in January. The figure for February is 21,574, slightly below the 22,272 of the previous month.
So far this year, Russian tourists already number 43,864, compared to the 46,080 Cubans residing outside the Island and, if this continues, the expectations detailed last week by the Minister of Tourism, Juan Carlos García Granda, could be exceeded. García stated that the Government “does not give up the objective of Russians occupying one of the first three places among foreign visitors to the country.” He also said that they hope to exceed 200,000 Russian tourists in the current year, an unambitious calculation, since in 2023 184,800 arrived.
In both 2018 and 2019 the number of tourists received was greater than 451,000, 68% more than last February
In general terms, it was not a bad month for the sector, which received 268,201 international travelers, slightly more than what is considered the best month of the year, January, when 259,808 arrived. The number represents 39,133 more tourists than in February of last year, some 17% more. The problem, again, comes when compared to pre-pandemic levels.
In February 2020, a month before the worst of the pandemic broke out and the airspace of almost the entire world was closed and international tourism was hit hard, Cuba received just over 401,000 foreign visitors, 50% more compared to the ar
