By Francisco Acevedo

HAVANA TIMES – With great fanfare, Cuban media celebrated this week the arrival of the first flight of the spring 2025 season carrying Russian tourists, even as the sector struggles to reach even modest numbers.

On March 28, the first 285 visitors from the largest country in the world arrived at the International Airport in Matanzas. Interestingly, one wouldn’t think that country is at war, as everything outside of Ukrainian territory seems to be business as usual.

The flight, organized by the Russian oil company Rosneft and operated by the airline Nordwind, launched a two-week stay in the Varadero resort. This goes beyond traditional hotel accommodation and includes various activities aimed at boosting Russian tourism, which has seen growth in recent years after virtually disappearing following the fall of the socialist bloc.

However, the reports related to this arrival made no mention of the current state of the “smokeless industry” in Cuba, which has failed to experience the expected rebound after the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the 2024 figures were released, a significant drop was evident compared to 2023. In the past year, 2,203,117 visitors were received—90.4% of the 2,436,980 reported the year before, according to the state-run National Office of Statistics and........

© Havana Times