China labels Cuba new tourist destination

China has put Cuba on the list of overseas tourist destinations for its nationals, Chinese president Jiang Zemin told his Cuban counterpart Fidel Castro in a meeting held by both statesmen during Mr. Castro’s visit to this huge Asian country.

China’s decision to include the island nation within its international tourism projects gives Chinese leisure companies plenty of leeway to both promote and plan trips of vacationers to the Caribbean country.

With the addition of Cuba, China now enhances the number of destinations to 35 for the time being, most of them hubbed in the Asian-Pacific beltway.

China ranks as the world’s fifth tourist destination and is currently gunning for the top spot in the near future.

In the same breath, the travel of Chinese citizens abroad has gotten a powerful leg up in recent years as a result of the country’s fast-paced economic growth that has raised its citizens’ living standards and purchasing power.

The World Tourism Organization estimates that China will also turn out to be a big-time sender of international travelers in the coming decade.

For the Caribbean island, its inclusion really bears watching since the leisure industry is one of its expanding economic sectors.