Cuba Welcomes 2 Million Tourists to Date in 2010

Cuba has welcomed some 2 million tourists so far this year and the sector is on its way to a 3 percent increase over 2009, according to a communique from the Tourism Ministry cited Tuesday in the official media.

The island reached that figure Monday for the seventh straight year and in record time, having totaled 2 million visitors 12 days before that number was reached in 2009, the report said.

It also said that Cuba as a destination is growing by around 3 percent compared to last year, when the island received 2.43 million tourists.

Canada remains the principal source of foreign visitors, followed by Britain, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Mexico, Argentina and Russia.

The ministry mentioned the island’s interest in “promoting a tourism of peace, health, safety and trust,” as well as “responsibly exploiting to the maximum” its natural attractions as well as its social and cultural achievements.

The report also said that the country’s development of tourism has been “among the biggest and most dynamic in the Americas and the Caribbean for two decades.”