ZCZC
BCN-20
CUBA-TOURISM-INDUSTRY
U.S. trade embargo costs Cuban tourism industry 38 bln USD: official
HAVANA, July 12, 2019 (BSS/Xinhua) – Cuba’s tourism industry has sustained
losses of 38 billion U.S. dollars as a result of Washington’s half-century
trade embargo against the island, Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero said on
Thursday.
During a report to lawmakers, Marrero added that recent sanctions imposed
by the White House forced the ministry to downgrade its forecast of
international cruise ship visitors in the second half of this year by
560,000.
In June, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump stepped up
travel restrictions, banning U.S. cruise ships from sailing to Cuba and
cancelling educational group travel to the Caribbean island.
However, the minister stressed that despite the renewed restrictions and
sanctions, which led officials to downgrade their tourism forecast for the
year by 10 percent, Cuba is expected to receive as many as 4.3 million
foreign visitors in 2019.
To counter the impact of U.S. sanctions, industry leaders plan to make
policies regulating tourism businesses more flexible to draw more investors,
and to promote more tourism from other countries, he said.
Tourism is a key generator of foreign revenue for the island, and a
priority industry.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1217