Havana, May 3 (Agency) Cuba has received more than 450,000 international tourists by April 2022, a figure that exceeds some 390,000 foreign tourists for the whole year of 2021, the Cuban tourism minister said on Monday. “The Caribbean nation has the potential to continue to be a safe destination,” Minister of Tourism Juan Carlos Garcia told Xinhua.
The minister made the remarks ahead of the 40th International Tourism Fair of Cuba, which starts on Tuesday in the seaside resort of Varadero, some 140 km east of the country’s capital. With new hotels slated to open in the coming months, Cuba’s National Assembly of People’s Power has earmarked 24 percent of the 2022 national budget for the development of the tourism sector. The Cuban government has projected a 4-percent economic growth for the year’s end with the arrival of nearly 2.5 million tourists.