Cuba Denounces Multi-Million Dollar Losses Due to US Blockade

The imposition of new blockade measures by the United States against Cuba in little more than a year caused multimillion-dollar losses. The permanent mission of Havana to the United Nations has denounced.

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According to a press release from the diplomatic mission, from April 2019 to March 2020, the U.S. blockade affected Cuban tourism in areas related to travel, services, operations, and logistical insurance, reflected in losses amounting to over 1,8 billion dollars. In particular, it stresses, the imposition of new measures by the State Department to regulate U.S. travel to Cuba, such as the ban on regular and charter flights to international airports, except for the capital's José Martí airport, contributed to this.

That is equivalent to a reduction in the flow of visitors from the United States of approximately 420,000 passengers, with the corresponding negative effect on revenue collection, the note adds.

In the absence of the blockade, it is estimated that the annual number of U.S. visitors to Cuba could reach at least two million, which would turn that country into the primary market for travelers to the island, it says.

Suppose this figure is subtracted from those who did travel to Cuba during the period (251,621). In that case, it is calculated that approximately 1,748,379 people did not travel from U.S. territory due to the blockade, it adds.