Cuba’s tourism sector has benefitted from the effects of a thawing relationship with the US, with the island nation’s visitor numbers hitting record levels in 2016.

Cuba and the US restored diplomatic relations on 20 July 2015, with President Barack Obama reaching an agreement with President Raul Castro to relax tensions between the two countries, with the effect notable on its tourism sector.

For 2016, Cuba welcomed four million tourists, up 13 per cent over the previous year’s figures, which had already leapt 36 per cent over five-month period following the landmark agreement in 2015.

In a statement, Havana’s Ministry of Tourism said that the island had exceeded projections by six per cent, with a surge of visitors coming from the US and Europe. According to tourism statistics, 137,000 US citizens visited Cuba in the first half of 2016 – an 80 per cent increase on the previous year’s figures.

The 2016 Attractions Foresight report identified Cuba as a hotspot for emerging visitor attractions and increased tourism as diplomatic relations with the US began to thaw. Even though business and tourist embargoes with the US remain intact, the foresight report said that investors who struck up partnerships in Cuba would be ahead of the game ahead of the predicted tourism influx.

For 2017, the tourism ministry is predicting more than 4.1 million visitors, boosted by a significant increase in access to international flights, with several US carriers flying to the country daily and European operators including Virgin Atlantic also launching weekly flights.