Cuba received a record high number of tourists in 2015, a year after the U.S. President announced to normalize the U.S.-Cuba relations.
Over 3.1 million foreign tourists had visited the island country in the first 11 months of the year, 17.6 percent more than the previous year, according to the Cuban National Office of Statistics.
The number of visitors, many coming from Canada and the US on cruise ships, had surpassed 3.5 million by the end of December.
The Cuban Ministry of Tourism predict that about 1.3 million visitors will spend the new year holiday on the island, nine percent more than the same period last year.
“The climate here is very good, much warmer than it is in Europe. It’s a very unusual new year experience for me,” said Eduardo, a European tourist.
“I had great experience here. The people are very very friendly,” said Bart, another tourist.
Tourism, one of the main sources of revenue for Cuba, has seen rapid growth since December, 2014 when Obama announced policies to normalize US-Cuba relations after five decades of estrangement between the two countries.
A set of diplomatic and economic changes have been taking place in Cuba since the announcement, which paved the way for the tourism development in the island country. (CCTV/Reuters)
