Ciego de Ávila, Cuba, May 4 (Xinhua) – The Cuban Government announced this Saturday the exemption of visas for Chinese citizens with ordinary passports who wish to visit the Caribbean island starting this month.
The announcement was made by the Minister of Tourism, Juan Carlos García, during the 42nd International Tourism Fair of Cuba (FITCuba 2024), which takes place in Cayo Coco, one of the keys on the northern coast of the center of the island.
García assured that the island will unilaterally allow visa-free entry to Chinese citizens with ordinary passports and announced that in the next edition of the Fair, in 2025, the guest country of honor will be China.
During FITCuba 2024, the airline Air China announced the restart of flights to Havana starting next May 17.
Cuba hopes that Chinese tourism represents one of the main markets to achieve a recovery of the sector on the island, according to the opinion of Cuban specialist José Luis Perelló.
The academic, one of the country’s leading experts on tourism issues, explained to Xinhua that China is one of the largest tourism markets in the world and is now beginning to open after the new coronavirus pandemic.
At the end of 2019, “China, with about 45,000 travelers, was ranked 13th among countries sending tourists to the Caribbean nation,” according to official figures analyzed by the academic.
According to Perelló, China is immersed in the construction and operation of large cruise ships, which can be an advantage for Cuba.
“We could be talking in the future about a gradual growth of tourism for Cuba and the rest of the Caribbean,” he stated.
The researcher assured that the island can become an important platform in the Caribbean region for Chinese visitors to practice multi-destination tourism, so that they can connect with other areas of tourist interest.
«We have strengths that have been studied by Chinese tour operators. “Cuba is a consolidated sun and beach destination, but there are many heritage, natural, historical and cultural potential,” said the specialist.
He highlighted that the signing of agreements with Chinese companies for the management of hotels in Cuba would be “very healthy” for the leisure industry in the Caribbean nation.
Cuba received 2.4 million tourists last year, a figure below the 3.5 million planned vacationers.
Tourism is the main contributor of foreign currency to the island, after the export of medical services, and is considered a sector that “drags” other areas of the local economy.
FITCuba 2024, which began last Thursday and concludes tomorrow, Sunday, brings together more than a thousand professionals from the sector, including representatives of hotel chains, travel agencies, airlines, and specialized press.
