Above: Cuba

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Cuba received just under 1.6 million tourists in the first six months of 2013, a 2 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2012, according to data from Cuba’s official government statistics office.

The Caribbean island saw 1,596,883 international arrivals from January to June, up from 1,626,469 international tourists in the first six months of 2012.

The country’s tourism sector continued to be dominated by Canadians, who accounted for around 44 percent of all foreign tourist arrivals to the country.

The second most tourists came from England, which brought 62,659 arrivals, while Germany accounted for 57,614 arrivals.

Source countries that showed year-over-year growth included Germany, Mexico, Chile and Venezuela, among others.

The data does not account for arrivals from the United States, from which travel is generally prohibited except for certain kinds of licensed trips.