HAVANA, Cuba (27 June 2005) -- Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic has started twice-weekly direct flights from from Gatwick airport to Cuba, a travel destination rapidly gaining popularity with scuba diving travelers. The inaugural flight arrived in Havana from London on Monday and the new service is expected to carry 42,000 passengers in the first year flying a Boeing 747-400. "This is good for Cuba, because British tourism has become our second most-important market after Canada," Cuban Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero told reporters at the airport where he met Branson on the inaugural flight. British tourists arriving in Havana reached 43,900 for the first quarter in 2005, a 35 percent increase over the previous year. "We plan to expand the market dramatically," Branson said at a news conference and estimated Virgin Atlantic would carry 150,000 to 200,000 passengers to Cuba within three or four years. | | Tourist arrivals in Cuba topped 2 million for the first time last year and the tourism industry now accounts for more than 40 percent of the communist nation's foreign currency earnings. Virgin Atlantic is co-owned by Branson's Virgin Group (51 percent) and Singapore Airlines (49 percent). CDNN NewsWire |
