Cuba sees more Russian visitors

Russia has become one of the fastest growing tourism source countries for Cuba with over 23,000 Russians visiting the Caribbean island state in the first half of 2010, up 25 percent year on year, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said Friday.

The increase can be attributed to Cuba's efforts to explore new tourism markets such as Russia, China, Mexico and Cubans living abroad after visitors from traditional tourist source countries like Spain, Germany and Italy, declined due to the global financial crisis, it said.

The measures included opening new direct flights, among which are twice-a-week direct flights between Moscow and Varadero, a major city in Cuba.

Cuba also held the 30th International Tourism Fair in Havana to strengthen the ties among tour operators between Russia and Cuba.

According to the NSO, 1.4 million visitors came to Cuba in the first half of this year, an increase of 1 percent year on year.

Tourism is Cuba's second largest industry, contributing about 20 percent to the island's total foreign currency income each year.

Source:Xinhua