Russian tourist Sergei walks with his family along the old streets of Havana, the capital of Cuba. The island began offering travel discounts to allied countries such as Russia and China. So he is trying to revive the tourism sector, which has never recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.
To attract travelers, Cuba has increased the number of direct flights from Russia and China, lifted visa restrictions for the Chinese, and also allowed banking transactions for Russian Mir cards.
More than 66,000 Russians visited the Caribbean island in the first three months of the year, state media reported. This is still a modest number, but double the figure for the same period in 2023.
Tough US sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump sharply reduced the number of American tourists. There have also been far fewer European travelers this year. Now the island is struggling to fill the gap.
However, experts note that China and Russia are unlikely to be able to completely solve the problem. Cuba is too far from China. Flights from Beijing usually have transfers and require more than a day in transit.
The island is estimated to welcome 2.6-2.7 million tourists this year. At the same time, they planned to accept more than three million.
