From our Annals of Apartheid Bureau with some assistance from our Bureau of Disheartening News for Socialist Latrine American Totalitarian Hellholes
Castro, Inc.’s hopes for a tourism boom after the Covid plague has fizzled, big time. Numbers of visitors remain far behind their pre-Covid levels. Castro, Inc. was aiming for 3.5 million tourists, but only around 2.5 showed up, a full million below the target number. As ever, Canadians beat every other nation on earth when it comes to supplying Castro, Inc. with dollars, but to a lesser extent than in pre-pandemic years. Cuban Yo-Yos hold second place, behind Canadians, but also in lower numbers than previously.
The only nation on earth that sent more tourists than ever was Russia. Makes sense, since Castro, Inc. sold the entire island to Czar Vlad the Invader. Tourists from Western European countries — which traditionally used to rival Canadians when it came to numbers –stayed away from Cuba in droves, signaling the loss of a once lucrative market.
Is this the beginning of the end for Castro, Inc.’s apartheid tourist racket? Stay tuned. But don’t expect Castro, Inc. to throw in the towel. They have poured so much money into tourism that turning away from it might seem inconceivable to the island’s military junta.
A suggestion for Castro, Inc: Hey, guys, all you need to do is to open casinos and brothels, as well as recreational drug stores (cannabis, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, mushrooms, ketamine, LSD). That might help you lure back the customers you have lost. You’ve been trafficking those drugs for decades. It shouldn’t be too hard to set up shops under the control of a Ministry of Apartheid Happiness.
Loosely translated from Diario de Cuba
While Caribbean competitors break records in tourist arrivals and revenues, the Cuban tourism industry remains trapped in the limbo of continuity. This time, the plan of Economy Minister Alejandro Gil to achieve the arrival of 3.5 million tourists has once again failed.
In 2023, only 2,436,979 tourists arrived in the country, a figure even below the 2.5 million plan set for 2022. The result represents a 43% drop in tourist arrivals to the country compared to the level reached in 2019, which was 4,275,561. It’s a real fiasco for the Cuban regime, which has invested over 24 billion dollars in hotel construction in the last 15 years. The national tourism industry has become the Cinderella of the Caribbean due to its dismal performance in the recovery period.
In contrast, the Dominican Republic surpasses 10 million tourist arrivals and generates revenues of over 11 billion dollars, contributing to more than 20% of the country’s GDP.
Of all the tourist-sending markets to Cuba, the only one that grew compared to 2019 — the year before the pandemic — was Russia, with an increase of 3.84%. Canada contributed the most tourists, with a total of 936,436. However, it fell 16.40% below the figure reached in 2019. The second group of travelers was Cuban residents abroad, with 358,480, well below the 623,975 reached in 2019. This result represents a decline of 42.55%. (See Figure 1). Overall, all markets, except Russia, declined compared to 2019.
The traditional top five European markets (Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and England), which in the past contributed the majority of tourists from Europe, remain stagnant with poor statistics, reflecting that Cuba has ceased to be an interesting market for these travelers. If we compare the results obtained in 2023 with those in 2019, we will observe the significant decline they have all experienced: Spain (-38.99%), Germany (-60.29%), France (-67.83%), Italy (-60.38%), England (-59.90%).
The arrival of Cuban residents abroad is also stuck, falling 42.55% in 2023 compared to 2019, the year before the pandemic.
Continue reading HERE in Spanish . . . and take a look at charts and graphs with statistics
That photo is so offensive in so many ways that it’s as if it were a deliberate provocation, yet the usual suspects have zero problem with it. The reason is simple: the only thing that really matters is whether or not something is useful to them in terms of advancing their agenda. If it is useless, let alone anti-agenda, it is ignored, rationalized or twisted up into something other than what it actually is. Lord, the disgust.