MADRID, Spain. – The Cuban government extended the validity period of tourist visas to 90 days, which up to now was for one month; it also announced the possibility of a once-only extension for the same duration.
The measure went into effect on November 1st, and although it has not been published on the Official Gazette of Cuba, according to the Spanish news agency EFE, it has been made known by the state tourism agencies and by some embassies in the island.
The expansion of the tourist visa period comes a few days after the Cuban government admitted that it will not meet its goal of welcoming 2.5 million international visitors in 2022, as it had expected.
“It’s estimated that the year will close with 1,710,000 tourists, less than the 2.5 million” that were projected in Plan for the Economy, and representing a drop of 32% from the projected figures, according to the minister of Economy and Planning, Alejandro Gil.
In spite of the serious crisis the country is facing, the regime continues to opt for raising the levels of the tourism industry. I was recently learnt that Cubasol entrepreneurial group, a Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR) outfit, was projecting new investments to strengthen the non-hotel infrastructure in the island until 2030, including development of golf courses.
Also, the Cuban regime has not halted construction of new hotels, nor the expansion of existing ones. During the months of world economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and of internal shortages due to the poor management of the economy on the part of the Communist Party, construction of new hotels has not stopped, as reported by CubaNet in a special report in early June of this year.
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