Cuba is wooing Chinese, Russians to revive its ‘rock bottom’ tourism sector. Will it work?
- The island nation hopes visitors from allied countries will make up for a drop in those from North America and Europe. An expert is doubtful
![A horse-drawn carriage waits for tourists in a square in Havana, Cuba. The country has seen a sharp decline in visitors from the US and Europe and is trying to make up for this by wooing Chinese and Russian tourists. Photo: Reuters](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1020x680/public/d8/images/canvas/2024/06/12/14f77244-418d-4e65-ae23-1f7804a64831_b95356eb.jpg?itok=VxSY1iE0&v=1718139377)
Russian tourist Serguei Boyaryshnic wandered in awe among the pastel-coloured buildings and cobblestone streets of Old Havana on a weekday morning, his family in tow.
“We had heard a lot about Cuba. Our countries have been friends for years,” said the 36-year-old Moscow resident, who had joined a small tour group. “We love everything about it.”
That has meant more, and sometimes direct, flights from Russia and China – Air China recently resumed a twice-weekly Beijing-Havana service via Madrid – the elimination of visa requirements for Chinese visitors and Cuba’s recent decision to accept Russia’s Mir payment cards, one of only a handful of countries to join Moscow’s alternative to Visa and Mastercard.
![Tourists ride in a vintage car around Revolution Square in Havana, in June, 2024. Photo: Reuters Tourists ride in a vintage car around Revolution Square in Havana, in June, 2024. Photo: Reuters](https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/06/11/574580c4-e4b7-4599-a5f5-66e66be2e61e_0c42f09f.jpg)
That strategy has paid early dividends. More than 66,000 Russians visited the Caribbean island in the first three months of the year, state-run Cuban media reported, double that of the same period in 2023.
The Russian visitors are one of Cuba’s few tourism bright spots, however.
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