Tourism to Cuba Rises 8% in 2004

Tourism to Cuba increased 8% this year compared with 2003, despite new U.S. restrictions on visits by Americans, state media reported.

More than 2 million tourists visited the Caribbean island nation this year, the largest number ever, Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero said.

Last year about 1.9 million foreigners visited Cuba. Canadians top the list of tourists, followed by Europeans, primarily from Italy, France, Germany and Spain.

By mid-September, visits to the country, primarily by Cuban Americans, had dropped 25% since the U.S. implemented restrictions on June 30 cutting authorized family visits from once a year to once every three years.