ISLE OF YOUTH, HAVANA, Feb 17 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – Cuba ranks ninth among Latin American tourist destinations, according to Cuban tourism expert Miguel Alejandro Figueras.

In his opening speech at the International Underwater Photo Contest “FOTOSUB Colony 2010″ yesterday at Colony Hotel, in the Isle of Youth special municipality, Figueras referred to the leap taken by the Caribbean island which ranked 23rd among favourite tourist destinations worldwide in 1990.

Cuba could rank fourth or fifth if the United States government allowed its citizens to travel freely to the island, said Figueras who is advisor to the Cuban Ministry of Tourism.

Before nearly 70 photographers, models and journalists from over 10 nations, he also highlighted the inclusion of Cuba among the 27 main destinations for diving, according to the World Tourism Organisation (WTO).

Regarding the latest tourism figures, he said that Cuba has received 29 million travellers in the last two decades, including 14.5 million people from Europe, eight million from Canada, 4,000 from Latin America and the Caribbean and 800,000 from the U.S.

He said the main tourist regions in Cuba were Havana, Varadero, Jardines del Rey, Camaguey, Holguin, Santiago de Cuba, the south-central and the Canarreos (the Isle of Youth and Cayo Largo), where 91 percent of tourism investments and tourist income is concentrated. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA

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