Cuba breaks record for tourists in 2011

Cuba has broken its record for tourism this year with more than 2.5 million foreign visitors, helped by increases from Canada, Britain, Russia and Argentina, officials said Friday.The ministry of tourism said that as of December 13, the number of visitors to the island was 2,531,745, topping the record from 2010.The rise in tourism is "proof of growth in our competitiveness, boosted not only by the quality and diversity of our tourism offerings, but by the stability and security we provide," the ministry said.Tourism is the second largest source of hard currency for the troubled Cuban economy, bringing in some $2 billion annually. The only larger source is professional services including medicine.Through September, tourism receipts amounted to $1.3 billion, up 2.4 percent from the same period last year, officials said.