HAVANA, (Reuters) – Cuba’s tourism boom continues at a record pace but is expected to cool off during 2016 with the government forecasting nearly 6 percent growth this year after a 17 percent increase in 2015.
Amid the international buzz surrounding the country’s detente with the United States, Cuba received a record 3.5 million visitors in 2015, then set another record for any single month in January 2016, officials said.
The influx has pushed capacity to the limit and forced many tourists to scramble for hotel rooms, raising questions about how Cuba will absorb additional visitors when scheduled U.S. commercial airline service starts this year.
The Communist government is rushing to increase hotel capacity in the capital Havana and the beach resort Varadero, the two markets under the most strain, said Dalila Gonzalez, deputy director of marketing for the Tourism Ministry.
Cuba has forecast 200,000 additional visitors this year, or 3.7 million total, which would be less than a 6 percent increase, Gonzalez said.
The January record of 417,764 visitors was up 12.7 percent from a year earlier.
“One of our priorities for this year is the construction of four- and five-star hotels, especially five-star hotels,” Gonzalez told Reuters.
