The Russian tourist flow to Cuba grew by 20%

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. This is 19% more than it was during the same period of the last year. Cuba could restore the dynamics of the international tourist traffic, violated in September last year due to Hurricane Irma. At that time the resorts of the north of the country suffered, which slowed for some period the bookings of Cuba hotels. This year the incoming traffic to Cuba is only slightly behind the level of the last year: 1,126 million foreign tourists as of mid-March (91.5% of the results of 2017 for the same date). In 2017 the Russian market has become one of the leading incoming markets in Cuba by the dynamics of tourist arrivals. According to the Federal Border Guard Service of Russia, in 2017 our compatriots made almost 83 thousand trips to Cuba (+ 60.2% to the result of 2016). According to the information of the Cuban side, the country was visited by more than 100 thousand Russians (+ 67% against 2016). At the end of 2017, Russia came for the first time into the TOP 10 of Cuba's incoming markets. According to leading tour operators, Cuba remains one of the most popular beach destinations in this season too. According to representatives of the companies Biblio-Globus and ANEX Tour, the demand for the direction is quite high, the sales volumes remain at the level of the previous year.