The surge in tourists fail to bring in more revenue for Cuban tourism
It is ironical that though Cuba registered a surge in the number of tourists including a 20 percent hike in the number of Americans, the tourism income has failed to make a recovery from the downturn caused by the global financial crisis . The overall tourist footfalls inched up to 2.53 million last year as against 2.15 million in 2007, however as the visitors are making shorter trips and spending less, the revenue has not made any notable recovery.
According to the statistics office, Canada accounted for the highest number of tourists at 945,000 followed by Britain at 174,000, Italy with 112,000 and Spain at 105,000. It is interesting to note that the United States was the eighth-biggest source of travelers despite Washington's decades-old ban on American tourism to the island. Cuban officials said that they expect 500,000 visitors annually from the United States,which might bring in a fillip in the overall tourism prospects of the country in the days ahead.
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