Tourist Interest in Cuba Soars in China Following Visa Exemption Announcement
In a surprising turn of events, tourist searches about Cuba from China have seen a significant increase in recent days. This spike in interest can be attributed to Cuba’s recent announcement of visa exemption for Chinese citizens looking to visit the island starting this month. According to reports from various Chinese media outlets, the Ctrip travel platform has been the main source of these searches.
Just 30 minutes after the Cuban government’s announcement, searches for “hotels in Cuba” and “Cuban flights” surged by over 40%, marking a noticeable uptick compared to the previous day, as reported by Global Times. Ctrip also confirmed that residents of Beijing and Shanghai exhibited a high level of enthusiasm when seeking information about traveling to Cuba.
Official data from the Chinese travel platform Qunar revealed that the price of a one-way ticket from Beijing to Havana is approximately 8,200 yuan (around $1,132 USD), with the return trip costing about 5,700 yuan.
Although there are currently no direct flights between China and Havana, Air China is set to reopen the Beijing-Havana route, via Madrid, on May 17. The airline noted that the services had been suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cuba has not traditionally been a popular destination for Chinese tourists due to factors such as distance and cost. However, Qin Jing, the general director of Public Affairs at Ctrip Group, commented that Cuba, along with Mexico and Brazil, boasts unique cultural and natural landscapes that are highly appealing to Chinese tourists.
According to data from the Ministry of Tourism, Cuba had already welcomed over one million international tourists by the end of April 2024, with projections of reaching 3.5 million by the year’s end. With the new visa exemption policy in place, it seems that Cuba is poised to become a sought-after destination for Chinese travelers in the coming months.