A newly gathered data on the Cuba tourism industry shows that the sector is like a well oiled machine that can lead the economy, also including plans for the protection of the environment.

Optimism is the main characteristic of the industry without smokestacks, solely on the fact that for seven year period, the country has received yearly over two million visitors. That stat allows local authorities to predict closing 2011 tourism season with the arrival of over 2.7 million travellers, which would mark a record.

Cuba Tourism Booms

Data of the National Statistics Office (ONE) confirm these predictions, showing a boom in arrivals of 11.9 percent in the first four months of 2011, compared to the same period of 2010. From January to April, Cuba received 1,179,963 tourists international travellers Just in April, they add, this destination attracted 275, 401 tourists, an increase of 13.4 percent in comparison with the same month of 2010, and 16.5 more than April 2009. Such figures represent 18.4 percent more than in 2008 and 33.4 percent over the results in 2007. They recalled that in 2010 Cuba received 2.5 million tourists, a 4.2 percent rise. Every day there are more tourists arriving in Cuba for vacations, especially from Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Argentina, Russia and Chile.

The International Group of Tour Operadores and Travel Agents, Havanatur, is the biggest supplier, with more than 600,000 clients in the first four months of this year, justifying its slogan of being “The Specialist of Cuba.”

Cuba Tourism Minister, Manuel Marrero, acknowledged recently that Cuba sits in the third position as a tourist destination in the Caribbean and Cuban government hopes to improve this position.

Marrero has spoken in a conference in the 31st International Tourism Fair FITCuba 2011 (May 2-7) where he talked about the most outstanding elements in the spiralling boom of Cuban tourism industry. The Tourism Minister said that the main objective is to increase competitiveness and elevate quality, highlighting the culture, history and traditions of the country. In 2010, 2,792 new rooms were constructed and added to the tourism infrastructure, mainly in the northern cays of Villa Clara and in the Varadero resorts. Cuba counts on more than 50,000 additional rooms in about more than 300 hotels distributed in the Cuban archipelago.

Cuba Wants more Tourist attraction

Cuba Tourism Minister Marrero stated that in less than 10 years, Cuba could become the third leading tourist destination of the insular Caribbean. Since 1990, the island received more than 30 million travellers, despite the USA blockade and hindering attempts against Cuba.