Havana - More than 94,000 Americans visited Cuba in the first four months of the year, representing an increase of 93% over the same period in 2015, announced on Wednesday the Tourism Minister of Cuba, Manuel Marrero, the International Fair Tourism Havana (FITCuba).
Marrero recalled today at the opening ceremony that in year 2015, 161,233 Americans visited the island, 76% more than a year earlier, encouraged by the easing of travel to the country, although it stated that it is the "only country in the world" for which US citizens can not hire tour packages.
There was also increase in the number of Cuban-Americans who traveled to Cuba. Last year there were 390,000 and only in the first four months of 2016, 116,000.
The Minister of Tourism admitted that the latest US government measures to ease the embargo and flexible travel that allowed individual visits, along with the expected start of scheduled flights, "contribute to further increase in American travel to Cuba" .
Marrero also referred to the impact of the new cruise ships are coming to Cuba from Florida (USA.), As is the case of Adonia vessel, the Fanthom American company, a subsidiary of Carnival, which last Monday opened the first regular line cruise that unites the two countries in half a century.
According advanced Marrero, Carnival, the largest operator of world cruises, wants to expand its routes between Cuba and Miami for the season 2016-2017, and Royal Caribbean, its main competitor, has already asked the Cuban authorities operate 72 scales between Havana and Miami for next season, between December 2016 and April 2017.
In addition, the MSC company, who landed on the island in December with Opera vessel largest -a that so far made a stopover on the island with a capacity of 2600 passageiros- want to include your Harmony ship of similar magnitude in the next winter season cruises.
The minister explained that Cuba is working to conditions to your cruise terminal on arrival of these new ships, and has already started investments to expand the terminals of the Havana airport before the increase in international flights that took place last year, will be intensified with the start of scheduled flights to the US.
The pressure of the "boom" of tourism in Cuba, which last year exceeded the threshold of 3.5 million visitors, is a strong pressure on the weak hotel infrastructure of the island, which is already working on the restoration and construction of new hotel vacancies .
"The housing demand is now outstripping supply, but are accelerating investments for new very high-end hotels," stated the minister.
In the Cuban capital are rebuilding old buildings of the city's historic chaste to turn them into luxury hotels.
"We are also reviewing more than 20 proposals of foreign companies to create new 5-star hotels," he anticipated the minister.
Marrero was the inauguration today of the XXXVI International Tourism Fair of Havana, edition in which some 200 representatives of US companies and delegations from 53 countries, among which stand out 17 Ministers of Tourism.
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