NUMBER OF TOURISTS DOWN 62 PERCENT IN SEVEN MONTHS

HAVANA, SEPTEMBER 2 /SRNA/ - Cuba recorded a 62 percent decline in the number of tourists in the first seven months of the year compared with the same period last year, as a result of US sanctions, the Associated Press reported.

The island was visited by 419,000 people, compared with 1.1 million last year, according to data released by the National Office of Statistics and Information.

Tourist destinations are deserted, while hotels, hostels and private accommodations are mostly closed.

In January, US President Donald Trump imposed a sweeping energy embargo aimed at forcing Cuba to change its political and economic model.

This further deepened the existing crisis, caused by earlier US sanctions and the failure of a domestic financial reform that fueled inflation.

Between May and July, the US State Department announced new sanctions targeting the tourism industry.

The measures included freezing accounts and banning transactions within the US financial system. Visa and Mastercard transactions have been halted.

Major airlines, including World2Fly, Air France and Turkish Airlines, had previously suspended flights after the Cuban Government announced that airlines could no longer obtain fuel on the island.

Tourism has been the main driver of Cuba’s economy over the past three decades, with the authorities confirming that annual revenues from the sector reached as much as $3 million.

Around 4.3 million tourists visited Cuba in 2019.