Havana and Moscow assured that they are working to resume tourist flights from the Eurasian country to Cuba starting next winter. Cuban authorities have not hidden their concerns about the return of holidaymakers from their main source market, which was shut down after the West vetoed flights from Russia last February over Ukraine’s invasion.
According to statements by Cuban Ambassador to Moscow, Julio Garmendiato the Russian daily newspaper Izvestia, The authorities of both countries, close political allies, “stick to the analysis of the objective conditions in order to restore commercial flights between the two countries in the shortest possible time.”
This was assured by the Cuban official “Efforts are being made to have, probably in the autumn, a definition of the measures that need to be taken to restore some flights in the winter.”
“We know that Russians are happy to return to Cuba for vacations, and Cubans await them with all the hospitality that characterizes them,” the diplomat said.
Garmendia reminded that Russian tourism is the first market for the Cuban leisure industry and “today it represents an important market for economic recovery,” he stressed.
Nevertheless, The note did not specify how both countries intend to restore their flight connection routes. Direct communications between Russia and Cuba are currently suspended. You can travel to the island from this country with a stopover in Istanbul, Turkey, and pay tickets in the region of 250,000 rubles ($4,210) per passenger.
Havana’s ambassador to Moscow also said that since 2021, Moscow and Havana have been working to introduce the MIR payment system on the island.which uses magnetic cards issued by Russian banks.
“The first phase of work is nearing completion, the aim of which is to connect the payment systems of both countries. This phase focused on the use of MIR cards in the island’s ATMs and that it can be expanded across the country,” the ambassador said.
Garmendia stressed that this move will be beneficial for the thousands of Russian visitors that Havana hopes to receive. “It is expected that by the end of this year it will be possible to use these cards on Cuban territory.”assured.
Although more than 140,000 tourists from Russia visited Cuba in 2021, flights were suspended and transfers paralyzed after the invasion of Ukraine due to Western sanctions against Moscow.
Likewise, the main Russian banks were disconnected from the international SWIFT system, which connects the world’s banking institutions for the issuance of payments, and companies such as Visa and Mastercard left this country. Therefore, Moscow is trying to expand its financial network to its remaining allies in the world.
Nowadays, MIRs are only accepted as a form of payment in Turkey, Vietnam and six former Soviet republics. In addition to Cuba, Moscow also wants to bring them to Venezuela.