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

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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

Published: 4:15am, 12 Jun 2024Updated: 4:56am, 12 Jun 2024

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.”

Cuba has recently begun offering perks to entice visitors such as Boyaryshnic from allied countries such as Russia and China as it struggles to revive a stagnant tourism sector still struggling to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

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

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.