August, 10 the first flight from Moscow to Varadero was fulfilled. 03:30 Boeing 777-300ER started from Sheremetyevo in Moscow and in 11 and a half hours arrived to Varadero with 492 tourists on board. There was 100% aircraft loading, demonstrating the high level of request for the destination among Russian tourists.  

The new charter flight program of TUI Russia in Santa Clara (Cuba) is approved by Russian Aviation Ministry. Also, the tour operator will sell tours for other two resorts based on these flights — Cayo Santa Maria and Cayo Las Brujas.  The duration of the tours is 10, 11 and 21 days. In total, in the winter season, the company intends to carry out 17 flights, which will transport up to 6,5 thousand tourists.  According to TUI Russia report, IFly airline will perform the flights to the island of Santa Clara on A330 airplanes with capacity of 387 seats. 

The charter program of the tour operator to Varadero starts in less than a month and is scheduled for the entire winter season. This became possible thanks to the replenishment of the fleet of the strategic partner of the tour operator - Royal Flight - with three Boeing 777-300 airplanes with business class.  From August 10, 2019, the charter flight program of Coral Travel from Moscow to Varadero will be launched on the wings of Royal Flight. The flights to Varadero will be carried out from Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport 2 times a week (on Wednesdays and Saturdays). The flight time will be 12 hours. 

Camaguey will be the fifth charter destination of the tour operator as part of its flight program to Cuba in the winter season. In the region, the tour operator will sell 11 hotels, several of them - on an exclusive basis.  According to PEGAS Touristik, the tour operator decided to replenish its Cuban range with another charter destination in the coming winter season.

Russia has been named as one of the most promising source markets in Cuba. Cuba expects to host a record 5 million foreign tourists this year and receive $ 3 billion in revenue from tourism. Last year, the country was visited by 4.7 million foreign tourists (+ 1.3% compared with 2017). Today, the tourism sector in Cuba creates half a million jobs and is the second source of income, providing 10% of GDP.

At the moment the minimum cost of travel packages to the Dominican Republic in online booking systems of tour operators is 85 thousand Rubles ($ 1,292) for two persons. This is the price for a week-long vacation in Punta Cana at 3* hotel with departure from Moscow in the beginning of March.  

A record number of Russian tourists - more than 137 thousand people - visited Cuba in 2018. In 2019 Cuban ministry of tourism plans to work on increasing the number of tourists from the Russian market and developing MICE segment.  

he growth of traffic to the Dominican Republic and Cuba, the success of Mexico and the renewal of AZUR airline’s fleet make it possible for the tour operator to reach new destinations in Latin America. The Caribbean region shows a significant increase in bookings this winter season.

According to the results of the first 9 months, the Russian tourist flow to Cuba grew by almost 25%. According to the forecasts of tour operators, the positive trend on the destination will continue in the upcoming winter season.

In the new winter season tour operators are significantly expanding their charter flight programs to Cuba. The Tourism Adviser of the Embassy of Cuba in Russia Edilberto Riveron Leon told about the reasons of the noticeable growth of the Russian tourist flow, the forecasts for the upcoming winter season and new priorities in tourism strategy.

The NordWind airline asked Rosaviatsia for permission for regular flights from Moscow to the Cuban cities of Santa Clara and Camagüey, the frequency in both cases - twice a week. As Anna Pidgornaya the General Director of Pegas Touristik explained the tour operator intends to use these flights in tour packages to Cuba in winter season - 2018/2019.

“According to the results of the first 4 months of 2018, the Russian tourist flow to Cuba grew by 25% in comparison with the same period of 2017”, - reported the embassy of the country. According to tour operators, the direction will can maintain a good demand this summer.

In the 1st quarter of 2018 the number of search requests for tours to Cuba also increased sharply. Analysts say that if the trend continues, we can expect new records this year. According to the tourism adviser of the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in Moscow, Mr. Edilberto Riveron Leonm for the 2.5 months of this year (as of March 15) 30,578 Russians visited Cuba.

“The Russians in 2017 made 75 thousand trips to Cuba, which is 67% more than a year earlier”, - reported the press service of Rosturizm. The department noted that the number of tourist trips of Cubans to Russia also increased and amounted 29 thousand for the same period, which is 12% more against 2016.

Varadero resort finished 2017 with a record 1.7 million foreign tourists. The Russian incoming market was among the three most active ones. In 2017 the Russian tourist traffic to Cuba for the first time exceeded 100 thousand people (+67% against 2016) which is a historical maximum.

“Over 52 thousand Russian tourists visited Cuba in January-June 2017, which is 2.2 times more than a year ago”, - reports Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) with reference to the data of the Cuban Ministry of Tourism in Russia. In total, Cuba for six months hosted 3 million foreign tourists, exceeded by 24% the level of the same period of 2016. Representatives of Cuban tourism connect the growth of the Russian tourist traffic with the stabilization of ruble exchange rate and with the growth of air transportation, first of all – charter flights.

Since October 5, a direct charter program from Moscow to Cuban island Cayo Coco will begin. The customer is tour operator - ANEX Tour, Azur Air airline will carry out the transportation, the frequency of flights is every 10 day. The tours on the basis of this air transportation are already appeared in the online booking system of the company.

“More than 65 thousand Russian tourists visited Cuba in 2016, which is 50% higher than a year earlier”, - said in the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) on Friday. "In 2017 the number of Russian tourists may return to pre-crisis indicators. More than 70 thousand citizens of the Russian Federation can visit Cuba. So far, in the modern history of the Russian-Cuban tourist relations the most successful year for Cuba is 2012, when the country was visited by about 87 thousand Russians", - said in a statement of ATOR.

“For 11 months of 2016 Cuba was visited by 52.6 thousand Russians, which is almost 39% more than for the same period of the last year”, - reported in the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) on Tuesday. "This figure has already exceeded the number of tourists from Russia for the whole 2015 - 43 thousand tourists.

Russian airline AZUR air operated its first charter flight from Moscow Domodedovo airport to the Cuban resort of Varadero. The flights will be operated twice a week on Boeing-767-300. This is the second line of the route network AZUR air in the Caribbean. Since fall 2015, the company successfully carries out flights from Moscow to Punta Cana. In September 2016 also flights from Saint Petersburg to the Dominican Republic started.

Azur Air has announced the expansion of its route network in the 2019/2020 autumn-winter schedule, including from Russian regions. The carrier will also increase the intensity of flights to its traditional destinations.