Cuba reopens its doors to international tourism to oxygenate its battered economy | International | information

Cuba reopens its doors to international tourism on Monday, heading towards the new normal, seeking to oxygenate its battered economy, which is going through the most severe crisis in three decades due to the impact of the pandemic, the strengthening of the US embargo and inefficient management.

The long-awaited reopening coincides with the celebrations of Havana’s 502 anniversary, the return to classrooms of elementary school students and the convening of the archipelago’s opposition platform for a civic protest march that seeks a political change on the island.

The process of de-escalating the most restrictive measures applied in the country for the epidemiological scenario caused by the coronavirus is attributed by its authorities to the mass vaccination program against COVID-19 which provides for the vaccination of 90% of the Cuban population by the end of the month.

With a current sustained trend to reduce infections and deaths from the disease after a strong epidemic since the beginning of the year, the country has resumed in recent weeks public transport services, hotels, gastronomy, Most cultural activities and the rental of private accommodation. In addition, the students gradually return to class.

Cuba achieves the total reopening of its borders on November 15 with a relaxation of the measures established for the most complicated epidemiological scenario of the pandemic and the objective of reversing the decline of the tourism sector, the second source of foreign exchange income for its impoverished economy.

Reopening protocol

From this Monday, all passengers who have received a vaccine recognized by the health authorities of their country of origin and children under 12 years old will be able to enter the country without negative test or quarantine.

Unvaccinated travelers will be asked to present a negative result of a PCR sample or antigen test from a certified laboratory in the country of origin issued within 72 hours of arrival in Cuba.

But if an international traveler exhibits “signs and symptoms of COVID-19 or another communicable disease,” they will be referred to a health facility where a diagnostic test will be performed, Cuban health officials said.

The health provisions of the reopening exempt children under 12, regardless of their nationality, from presenting a vaccination schedule or PCR test upon arrival.

They also maintain measures such as taking the temperature of all travelers entering and leaving the country, the compulsory use of a mask and disinfectant solutions for the hands, as well as the presentation of insurance. COVID-19 disease.

More flights

At the same time, a gradual increase in flight operations at the island’s ten international airports is expected, from the current 63 flights per week to more than 400 by the end of the month, according to estimates by the Ministry of Transport.

At present, it is expected that 147 flights from the United States will arrive in different Cuban cities, where the largest community of Cuban emigrants abroad lives, and of these 77 will be destined for the airport. international José Martí from Havana.

The archipelago’s maritime borders have also scheduled the rehabilitation of their terminals to resume visits by cruise ships next December.

The Caribbean country suspended commercial and charter flights in April 2020 to stop the spread of the coronavirus and in October of the same year it reopened airports, but with a drastic reduction in flights, limiting them to those in the United States. United, Mexico, Panama. , Bahamas, Haiti, Dominican Republic and Colombia.

Visitors forecast

Cuban tourism authorities expect to receive more than 100,000 international tourists by the end of the year.

Before the arrival of the Covid in Cuba in March 2020, tourism contributed about 10% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and ranked second in importance for the economy, behind only professional services.

Projections of receiving around 4.5 million international visitors in 2020 and reversing the 9.3% drop from 2019, when 4.2 million tourists traveled to the country, have disappeared with the pandemic. In the first half of 2021, only 114,460 international travelers arrived in the country, 88% less than in the same period of the previous year.

In this last stage, Russian tourism led the way, followed by that of Cubans residing in other countries, Germans, Spaniards and Canadians.

The contraction of the sector for more than a year and a half served to revive and renovate the facilities, as well as the construction of new hotels in Havana, in the eastern province of Holguín and in Varadero, the main seaside resort. and seaside resort of Cuba.

Thus, more than 4,000 new rooms will be added to the hotel plant of some 70,000 rooms for the reopening, while the government’s plans predict that by 2030 the island will have more than 103,000. (I)