Prensa Latina

Despite natural disasters, the tourism industry has had a stable growth worldwide, with Cuba among the main destinations in the Caribbean, according to international experts and reports.

The World Tourism Organization´s latest “Barometer of World Tourism” revealed the sector grew 5.5 percent by the end of last year. In particular, 133.1 million people travelled on vacation to the American continent, with Venezuela and Colombia registering the highest figures in tourist arrivals.

In the Caribbean, visits increased 4.7 percent, despite decreases in several regional countries, with Cuba and St. Vincent posting largest increases - 13.2 and 16.4 percent, respectively.

As many as 808 million tourists travelled worldwide last year, the report added. “Although world tourism has been affected by a situation of insecurity and uncertainty, the sector has not collapsed,” said Francesco Frangialli, secretary of the World Tourism Organization.

The organization´s predictions for 2006 point to further increases of between 4 and 5 percent.

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