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Support Revolutionary Cuba! Oppose Foreign Interference in Cuban Affairs! Cuba Takes All-Sided Measures to Reopen Its Borders
On November 15 Cuba will reopen its economy and once again permit foreign travel and tourists from abroad, accompanied by the necessary measures to ensure the safety of Cubans and foreign visitors. To facilitate access to travellers, quarantine requirements upon arrival were eliminated as of November 7, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing at airports as of November 15. In addition to regular travel documents, tourists will only be required to carry a vaccination passport or proof of a negative PCR test result obtained within 72 hours prior to arrival. Cuba will receive more than 400 weekly flights in all its airports as of November 15, Transportation Minister Eduardo Rodríguez said at a press conference. This includes up to 147 weekly flights from the United States. The minister explained that all airlines' requests have been attended to. Rodríguez explained that the 10 international
airports in Cuba have been conditioned for safe
transit, while optimizing the efficiency of health
measures without neglecting travellers' health. He
highlighted new elements such as the availability
of Internet in all airports, with 30 minutes free
of charge, and pointed out that work is being done
to digitize arrival procedures. Starting November 15, Cuba will also authorize
the docking of recreational vessels in its
territorial waters. Viazul, a bus company which
connects several tourist destinations in Cuba,
will also resume its services. More than a million students are scheduled to return to school on November 15, the same day the country opens up to international tourism, which had been limited by flight restrictions and the closure of hotels and restaurants in much of the island. In the downtown and historic areas of Havana, hotels and restaurants have opened their doors to attract some of the 100,000 visitors that the authorities expect by the end of the year, Cuba's peak tourist season. In the first half of 2021, the country received just 21.8 per cent of the tourism captured in the same period of 2020 (1.2 million visitors). By 2022, the government expects two million tourists, still a far cry from the four million who came annually before the pandemic. "We are going for a controlled and staggered reopening with a guarantee that by November 15, 90 per cent of the population or more" will be vaccinated, Tourism Minister Juan Carlos García said recently. As of October 30, 7.3 million Cubans out of a total population of 11.2 million (64.9 per cent of the population) have been fully vaccinated, with Cuban-produced vaccines. Recognition of these vaccines by the World Health Organization is pending. The authorities plan to immunize the entire population by the end of the year.
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