Record Number of Russian Visitors to Cuba

HAVANA TIMES — As of December 15, a record-setting 81,700 visitors from Russia traveled to Cuba in 2012, said Estefania Escobar, the director of the island’s Office of the Ministry of Tourism in Moscow.

According to the Prensa Latina news agency, this indicator is well above the 78,468 in 2011, with still nearly two weeks left until the end of the year. This is the third consecutive year that growth has been achieved.

The results indicate good prospects for an agreement recently signed by the Russian Ministry of Transportation and the Civil Aviation Institute of Cuba that will allow direct flights by the Aeroflot company into other international terminals of the island in addition to the capital’s Jose Marti Airport.