Cuba's tourism industry is gearing up for a growing influx of Chinese tourists after the Cuban government announced on Saturday that it would adopt a visa-free policy for Chinese citizens holding ordinary passports, starting this month.
The announcement was made by Tourism Minister Juan Carlos Garcia during the 42nd Cuban International Tourism Fair (FITCuba 2024), which was held in the seaside resort of Cayo Coco in the province of Ciego de Avila.
According to reports, within half an hour after the announcement of the visa-free policy, the real-time search volume of Cuban hotels and flights on Chinese travel service platforms increased by over 40 percent compared to the previous day.
With rich cultural heritages, historic cities such as Havana and Santiago plus beautiful beaches, the Caribbean country is an ideal vacation destination.
"While I was traveling in the past few days, I saw the news on my smartphone. The visa-free policy will bring more convenience to Chinese tourists. The active mutual exchanges will surely boost tourism and contribute to the economic development of Cuba," said Guan Yue, a Chinese tourist.
The Cuban Ministry of Tourism is upbeat about the Chinese tourism market and engaged intense consultations with Chinese travel agencies and airlines, aiming to attract more Chinese tourists.
"This is very beneficial for us. First, the two countries enjoy close diplomatic relations like brothers. Chinese tourists also hold a prestigious position in the global tourism market. Currently, the Chinese tourism market ranks among the top 20 in Cuba, and we expect its ranking to reach the top five. Let's wait and see," said Elizabeth Vela Jaime, a Tourism Counselor for the Asia-Pacific region under the Cuban Ministry of Tourism.
Ariel Lorenzo Rodriguez, director of the Department of Asia and Oceania at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, said the specific details of the visa-free policy are in the pipeline and are expected to officially take effect soon.
"The decision to implement the visa-free policy aims to continuously foster friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries. Of course, this decision will also be beneficial for the exchanges between the people of both nations and contribute to the development of Cuba's tourism industry," added Ariel Lorenzo Rodriguez.
As of April 26, Cuba has received more than 1 million international tourists this year, according to data from the Cuban Ministry of Tourism.
The Cuban government expects to receive 3.5 million international tourists in 2024.
Cuba eager to see growing influx of Chinese visitors driven by visa-free travel
A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi made a hard landing in Iran's northwestern province of East Azerbaijan on Sunday, state-run IRIB TV reported.
Raisi’s helicopter was part of a convoy of three helicopters which was on its way from Khoda Afarin County, where Raisi had attended the inauguration ceremony of a storage dam along with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev, to the provincial capital Tabriz where Raisi was scheduled to attend the inauguration of a petrochemical complex, according to the report.
"On May 19 local time, the helicopter carrying Iranian President Raisi made a hard landing in East Azerbaijan in northwestern Iran. According to our investigation in Iran, the incident took place near the Varzaghan area of East Azerbaijan. From the live broadcast on Iranian national television, we can see that the entire area of the accident site is in a state of severe foggy weather, which caused great trouble to the search and rescue work. In addition to Iranian President Raisi, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the governor of East Azerbaijan Province, and other officials and entourage were also on the helicopter," said Li Jiannan, a CCTV reporter in Iran.
Speaking to IRIB TV, Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi attributed the helicopter's rough landing to the unfavorable weather conditions, which he said also impacted search and rescue work.
The head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society Pirhossein Kolivand told IRIB TV that 40 rapid reaction teams had rushed to the scene and were monitoring the region while noting that there were difficulties in reaching the scene by land or by air due to the mountainous terrain and the bad weather conditions.
Kolivand, however, said drones were being used to search the region.
Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Baqeri has ordered the army, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the police to make all-out efforts to search for and rescue the president and his accompanying team, said the Iran Newspaper.
Speaking to IRIB TV, Iranian Health Minister Bahram Einollahi said medical teams had been stationed near the possible crash site.
Iranian government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi said in a post on social media platform X that Vice President Mohsen Mansouri and several cabinet members were on their way to Tabriz after a meeting in Tehran.
Following the incident, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei expressed his hope that President Raisi and accompanying officials would be able to return home safely, saying that everyone should pray for them. Iranian people do not need to worry, and the work of the country and the government will not be affected, he said.
Following reports of the incident, leaders of neighboring countries, including Azerbaijan and Iraq, expressed concern over the developments and said they were ready to assist in search and rescue efforts.
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on the same day, saying that Türkiye is following the incident and hopes that Iranian President Raisi, Foreign Minister Abdollahian and other Iranian officials are safe and healthy. Türkiye has taken action to provide support for the search and rescue operation, the statement said.
Iranian president's helicopter makes hard landing in NW province
