Cuba is betting on the Russian and Chinese markets, but economists assume that the drop in tourism will not be compensated, since these tourists do not repeat due to the distance and the conditions of the infrastructure on the island.
“Russian tourism does not compensate for the decline of European tourism, absolutely not at all. They are traveling because of the support that Cuba has given to Russia in its genocidal invasion of Ukraine. They make a tremendous effort to travel to a country 10,000 kilometers away, which offers very little in variety, quality, attention, food and entertainment,” Emilio Morales, president of The Havana Consulting Group, told Diario de Cuba.
And he added that the Island “is not an attractive market for Chinese tourists, due to the distance and poor infrastructure conditions,” Morales commented.
For his part, economist Omar Everleny Pérez pointed out that “it will be attractive, but never with the volumes, for example, of Canada, which is three hours from here.”
Compared to the Dominican Republic, Pérez indicated that “we have to be fair, although it is not the appropriate response. The Dominican Republic receives 12,000,000 tourists a year, but 5,000,000 are from the United States. That must also be taken into account, it is a non-negligible figure. “We are talking about half,” he said.
Pérez explained that the tourist in Cuba goes to the hotel and then has nowhere to go. “There are no water parks or amusement parks. They are good sun and beach destinations, but only that. Cuba has lagged behind in developing a non-hotel industry and in the quality of service. It is no secret that the best prepared boys from Varadero have left the country through different routes,” Pérez said.
As reported REPORTUR.mxAlthough the Minister of Tourism of Cuba, Juan Carlos García Granda, has expressed on several occasions the Cuban government’s aspiration to exceed three million international visitors this year, he admits that it is a difficult goal to achieve, since the island has received blows. from the United States and Argentina, which has led it to focus on the China and Russia markets. (Cuba: blows from the USA and Argentina focus it on China and Russia).
