Cuban tourism keeps upward trend in 2015, says Minister

HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 28 (acn) Cuban Minister of Tourism Manuel Marrero said the number of tourists in Cuba has grown 17.8 percent in 2015, compared to the same period last year.

During the closing ceremony of the Tenth International Event of Nature Tourism TURNAT 2015, Marrero said that over 2 million 258 thousand people have traveled to Cuba in the first 9 months of the year.

He said the fastest growing source countries are France (30 percent), UK (28.6) and Spain (25), while Canada remains the largest market.

The Cuban Minister said that, despite the hurdles imposed by the US blockade, under the 12 general licenses issued by the US government, the amount of citizens from that country that visited Cuba grew a staggering 59 percent.

He added that the development in this sector goes in hand with the national interest of achieving sustainability in the economic, social and environmental areas; in that regard they are applying measures aimed at using energy in a rational way, and the preservation of natural resources

Marrero also spoke how the emerging private sector is complimenting the state offers to tourists, with some 11 thousand houses for rent and over 2 thousand paladares (private restaurants)