Cuba was once a popular destination for travelers from the United States, but the country has recently lost favorability among Americans. In the first quarter of 2018, Cuba has experienced a seven-percent decline in visits, compared to the same period in 2017. The decline has been attributed to a slowdown in travel from the US, according to a CubanDebate.cu report. Travelers from the US represent the third-largest market for Cuba. Cuba saw a record number of US visitors in 2017, with 4.7 million traveling to the once-forbidden Caribbean destination. This was an increase of 16.2 percent over 2016 totals, according to Michel Bernal, director of the Ministry of Tourism in Cuba. However, by the end of 2017, tourism from the US began a slow decrease due to a number of negative reports about the country. To start with, Cuba was directly in the path of Hurricane Irene, which devastated much of the Caribbean region. The tourism industry in Cuba immediately reassured tourists that the damage was not as bad as reported, but this did little to stop the decline. Then it was reported that government workers at the US Embassy in Cuba suffered unexplained medical problems that were attributed to sonic attacks. While the country denied any involvement in such incidents, the State Department in the US issued an elevated travel warning for Cuba and reduced its official presence there. Additionally, confusion followed an announcement that the US was “canceling” an arrangement made by former President Barack Obama with Cuba, which caused many Americans to believe that traveling to Cuba had again been put “off limits.” In reality, the changes were only minor, and Cuba remains open to Americans who want to visit there. The strong growth in cruise travel to Cuba has also had an effect on tourism. The increase in number of cruise passengers could mean benefits for local operators and retailers, but it does not impact the number of overnight visitors or contribute to tax revenues arising from hotel stays. In spite of the downturn in US tourism, Cuba is optimistic that it will meet its give million-visitor goal for the year. It will hold an International Tourism Fair in May 2018, inviting tour operators and other tourism representatives from around the world, with a particular focus on Europe, to offset the early losses of visitors from the US.
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