Cuba cites drop in U.S., European arrivals as tourism sags

Posted on Tuesday, 06.18.13



Cuba cites drop in U.S., European arrivals as tourism sags

BY JUAN O. TAMAYO

JTAMAYO@ELNUEVOHERALD.COM



Cuba's tourism arrivals shrank by nearly 5 percent in April compared to

the same month last year, largely because of significant drops in

visitors from the United States and southern Europe, according to

official reports.



But its income from tourism held steady, apparently as Cuba raised its

prices and reached out to more big-spending tourists, moving away from

its traditional attractions of low-cost, all-inclusive beach resorts.



Cuba's National Statistic Office (ONE) reported that tourist arrivals

fell from 288,000 in April of last year to 274,000 in the same month

this year — a 4.9 percent drop. The 1.2 million visitors for the first

four months of this year was 1.4 percent down from the same period in 2012.



Of the 18 source countries listed separately by ONE, the three at the

top — Canada, United Kingdom and Germany — saw increases of 1.3 percent,

8.1 percent and 11.8 percent, respectively.



Visitors from Spain plunged by 29.5 percent from April to April — from

6,359 to 3,834 — from Italy by 7.2 percent and from France by 6.8

percent, according to the ONE report.



But the most significant drop was in the "other" category, which ONE

uses to lump together arrivals from the United States and all other

countries with less than 2,000 or so tourists. That fell from 63,248 in

April of last year to 54,771 this April — 13.4 percent.



Arrivals from "other" countries also fell from 258,378 in the first

quarter of 2012 to 243,782 in the same period this year, according to ONE.



Johannes Werner, editor of the Tampa-based Cuba Standard, a publication

that tracks the island's economy, said the drop in Spanish and Italian

arrivals reflected the financial crisis lashing those countries. Spain,

for instance, has 20 percent unemployment.



"This shows the continued weakness of the southern European markets,

which have been historically strong sources of tourists for Cuba,"

Werner said.



As for the drop in U.S. arrivals, Werner said he could only speculate

that the initial wave of interest in travel to Cuba after the Obama

administration began easing restrictions on such travel in 2008 "has

flattened out a bit."



Cuba travel industry officials in Miami told El Nuevo Herald in February

that only 45 charter flights to the island were scheduled for March,

compared to 60 in September.



Although ONE does not report the number of arrivals by Cuban Americans

or other U.S. residents on especially licensed "people-to-people" trips

— tourism is illegal — the total of those categories was estimated at

440,000 in 2011.



Also down in ONE's report was hotel occupancy, which dropped from 65.7

percent in the first quarter of 2012 to 63.7 percent in the same period

this year.



Yet Cuba's income from tourism during the first quarter of this year

stayed at about $655 million, Werner said, most likely indicating that

facilities have raised their prices but also showing that the island is

trying to bring in more upscale tourists.



The already upscale Paradisus Hotel in the Varadero Beach resort, for

instance, is adding a "Royal Service" category that includes

limited-access pools and junior suites, he said. Cuba also is working on

a string of new golf resorts and marinas.



"Obviously, the intent is to draw in bigger spenders," Werner said.



Source: "Cuba cites drop in U.S., European arrivals as tourism sags -

Cuba - MiamiHerald.com" -

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/06/17/3456404/tourism-to-cuba-sags-mostly-because.html