by Donald Wood
Last updated: 3:29 PM ET, Tue October 26, 2021
Cuba announced plans to reopen for international travelers and ease entry requirements, starting in November.
According to Reuters.com, visitors heading to Cuba beginning on November 15 will be required to show proof of vaccination or a recent PCR coronavirus test to enter the country, with no additional quarantine requirements.
Cuba previously had some of the strictest protocols in the Caribbean, involving a quarantine period and multiple PCR tests. While the island's three-dose homegrown vaccines have yet to be approved by the World Health Organization, at least 90 percent of the population has received at least one shot.
In 2019, Cuba received more than four million tourists, a 10.6 percent contribution to the country's GDP. The latest data showed the island welcomed just 200,000 so far this year and expects around 100,000 more in 2021.
Cuban economist Ricardo Torres said tourism dropped by 92 percent this year compared to 2019.
"So we are talking about next year for any real tourism recovery...which generates a knock-on effect and so is decisive to economic recovery," Torres told Reuters.
While the Cuban government remains optimistic about the impact of reopening to international tourists, officials have cautioned economic recovery will be more gradual than initially thought, following a decline of 10.9 percent last year and another two percent through June.
"We are in a favorable moment as we begin to recover our customs, to be able to visit relatives and go on vacation, as well as improve economic activity," Tourism Minister Juan Carlos Garcia told Reuters.
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