The company is constructing a fourth passenger ship terminal at the Cuban port of Cienfuegos, about a two-hour drive southeast of Havana, the council said. Morales said that 11 cruise ships currently include Cuba as a port of call, with others occasionally docking in Cuba. The Cuban government said it expects 100,000 cruise ship passengers will visit this island this year, compared with 76,464 in 2000. Of these, the government estimates 66,000 passengers disembarked at the port of Havana. Cuba said 1.7 million tourists visited the island last year, below government projections of 2 million visitors.
Tourism is Cuba's biggest source of hard currency followed by minerals, sugar and tobacco.
John S. Kavulich II, president of the council, said the council doesn't take positions with respect to political differences between the U.S. and Cuba. All rights reserved.