Cuba bets on tourism, foreign investment to ward off economic difficulties

HAVANA, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Cuba bets on further developing tourism industry and increasing foreign investment to fight off a tough economic situation due to financial limitations, said top government officials on Wednesday.

Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero told lawmakers at one of the National Assembly's working groups that Cuba received over 4.2 million international visitors in the first 11 months of the year, which represents a 19.7 percent increase in comparison to the same period of 2016.

He said despite a decrease in the arrival of tourists due to the impact of hurricane Irma in September, tourism industry can still reach the target of 4.7 million visitors in 2017 set at the start of the year.

Marrero highlighted that Canada continues to be the island's biggest market while U.S. visitors substantially increased until early November when Washington released new regulations to restrict its citizens to travel to Cuba.

Regarding cruise tourism, the Cuban official expressed it has grown 230 percent this year and it will continue a "favorable" path with more operations of cruise companies from the U.S. and Europe.

Meanwhile, Deborah Rivas, a senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Commerce and Investment, said the country attracted over two billion U.S. dollars of foreign investment this year.

"Currently negotiations are advancing in 15 initiatives of infrastructure development in sectors like renewable energies, industries, construction and mining," said Rivas at one of Cuba's parliament committees.

The Cuban official said developing foreign investment is one of President Raul Castro's top priority given the importance it has for the national economic and social development.

Starting next year, Cuba will begin to issue periodic and regular information about the performance of its direct foreign investments through official reports of the National Office of Statistics and Information, Rivas said.

A law on foreign investment was approved in 2014 by the parliament which provides a favorable economic and investment environment for companies to set up joint ventures in Cuba.