Thursday, May 24, 2012

CUBA BREAKS RECORD IN HAVANA VARADERO

Bikini Tourist Girl on Holiday on Varadero Beach  1 hour east of Havana Cuba

 Cuba Breaks Tourist Record

Cuban Tourist arrivals in Havana broke the Caribbean record in the first four months of 2012 stated the Cuban Ministry of Tourism and Statistic Bureau.

Holiday vacationers to Cuba, Varadero, Matanzas, Cayo Coco, Trinidad and this Caribbean island beach paradise reached 1.24 million since April this year, up over 5.2 percent over the same period in 2011, the Cuban tourism and Insurance bureau said, adding that the previous Cuban Health, Travel & Insurance record produced a ten percent increase in revenue.

Since April, 2012, Cuba, Havana, Trinidad, Cayo Largo & Varadero beaches received 300,000 tourists, over 15,000 more tourist than in 2011. Cuba's top tourism partner is still Canada the most valuable source of Cuban tourists, followed by France, Argentina, Germany, Russia and Mexico.

The United States American tourist are the fastest  growing tourist sector with over 100,000 Cuban Americans travel to Cuba in the past year with millions more Americans expected to vacation in Cuba as soon as U.S. President Obama lifts the American travel restrictions.
cuba
cuba (Photo credit: citronate)

Cuba is banking on health insurance and medical tourism to serve as a the financial engine of growth to help the future development of other social, medical and economic projects, the Cuban government aims at receiving over 3 million tourists in 2012.

Cuban Investments in Tourism up significantly

Havana Cuban tourism hotel imports and exports were up 20 percent during the first quarter of 2012, compared with the same period in 2011, due mainly to the visit of the Pope to Cuba which resulted in increased income from tourism, Cuban travel, Health Insurance and health care services reported the Ministry of Cuban Banking and Finance.

This financial profit follows a 20 percent rise in exports according to experts at the Foreign Trade Ministry. Increasing Cuba tourist is good news for Cuban President Raul Castro and his efforts to boost Cuba's debt-ridden economy by increasing export income and decreasing imports.

In 2010 Cuba's exports totaled $14.2 billion according to preliminary figures with Cuba's exports rose 10 percent compared to 2011, 15 percent of which was tourism, Cuban hotels and the remainder health and travel insurance services. The financial profits earned from tourism insurance services are accounted for by tourism and health care assistance. In Varadero tourist grew over 10 percent in April according to the Cuban National Statistics Office.

As a bonus for protecting the health care of foreign tourist in Cuba some 40,000 Cuban professionals, most from the health care sector, are working in the tourist sector in Varadero, Cayo Coco, Trinidad, Matanzas, Havana and also in oil-rich Venezuela and the bulk of earnings go to the Cuban government.

Cuba health care sector exports similar Insurance and surgery laser technical services to some 30 other countries with service category income that also includes communications and revenues from hospitals and  joint ventures.

After 10 years of investing in Cuban tourism hotel sector Castro's investment funds appears to have paid off in order to boost exports and reduce imports which have resulted in annual trade surpluses averaging $2 billion since the first Cuban Investment back in 1990.
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Money & Travel in Cuba