Cuba Tourism to Set a Record

HAVANA, Cuba, December 28, 2009 - Cuba's tourism arrival numbers continue to rise even as its Caribbean counterparts continued to struggle in 2009.

Tourism Minister, Manuel Marrero, told the country's parliament that visitor arrivals to Cuba were on track to reach 2,425,000 before the end of 2009 - a new record for the country.

The forecast means the communist island would see a 3.3 per cent increase in arrivals compared to the previous year.

Most tourists came from Canada followed by Great Britain and Spain.

By contrast, most other Caribbean territories saw a drop in arrivals this year, except for Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Curacao, latest Caribbean Tourism Organisation figures show.