More than 2 million tourists have visited Cuba this year, state media said, putting the country on track for a record number of visitors bringing badly needed cash to an economy facing a sharp reduction in subsidized oil from its chief ally, Venezuela.
Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero said Wednesday that visitor numbers were running 12 percent ahead of those last year, which already saw a record number of tourists. The surge is credited to a wave of international interest in Cuba prompted by the announcement of U.S.-Cuba detente in December 2014. Visitor numbers are expected to get a major boost after commercial flights from the United States begin this month.
