New flights to Cuba will begin from the United Kingdom

Two new air routes from the United Kingdom to tourist destinations in Cuba will open next May. One of these connections will be between London and Cayo Coco, while the other will connect Manchester with Holguín.

According to information provided by the Cuban Foreign Ministry, the London-Cayo Coco flight will begin operations on Sunday, May 5, departing from Gatwick Airport in the British capital. The Manchester-Holguín route will begin operations the following Friday.

The official launch of these routes took place recently in collaboration with the Cuban Tourist Office in the United Kingdom, IronTravel, and the broker TripLatam, Cubaminrex reported.

These new aviation additions add to efforts to increase tourism to Cuba. Earlier this year, the Spanish company Enjoy Travel Group (ETG) announced a new service from Madrid to Havana, scheduled to begin on June 29.

Projections

For the current year, the Ministry of Tourism aims to attract 100,000 visitors from Spain through 18 weekly flights during the summer, operated by airlines such as Plus Ultra, Cubana de Aviación, and Iberia, according to Giana Galindo, commercial director of the Ministry of Tourism, quoted by Prensa Latina.

Additionally, earlier this month, Venezuelan airline Rutaca launched a new international route to Havana from Las Piedras Airport in Falcón state.

This initiative is part of a strategy to boost tourism from Venezuela to the island, which has experienced significant growth in recent years, primarily for commercial purposes.

Increase in tourism in Cuba

Cuban authorities reported that the island welcomed more than 259,000 tourists in January of this year, representing a 104% increase compared to the same period last year.

Despite the recupWith the gradual recovery of the tourism sector following the pandemic, the figure of 3 million visitors is expected to be reached in 2024, although this target could prove insufficient compared to the levels recorded in 2018, according to Tourism Minister Juan Carlos García Granda during a meeting with business leaders in Madrid.