Zika Will Take A $664 Million Bite Out Of Cuban Tourism, World Bank Estimates By Emily Canal Forbes February 19, 2016
As concerns mount over Zika and its potential link to microcephaly birth defects in babies, the World Bank estimates Latin America and the Caribbean will suffer a staggering $3.5 billion economic loss due to the virus this year .
The economic impact will be driven by people avoiding travel to the areas with Zika, according to the Feb. 18 report. The loss of tourism revenue will come primarily from personal trips or vacations rather than business trips. The report comes after the bank made $150 million available towards fighting Zika earlier this week, an amount almost triple what the World Health Organization said it needed to combat the disease.
Mexico and Cuba are the two countries with the most to lose in terms of short-term economic costs, according to the report. The World Bank estimates Mexico will lose $744 million and Cuba will lose $664 million, or .86% of the island's GDP. Cuba's share of the total loss to the region works out to be about 19%
The Caribbean country is not a member of the World Bank and the numbers in the report are estimates based off data from the World Tourism Organization, Yanina Budkin, the lead communications officer of the World Bank, told FORBES in an email. Missing figures like the expenditures of inbound travelers were estimated using similar countries.
That's a hefty price for Cuba, which has seen an influx of American travelers in the last year and could expect even more as President Barack Obama continues to ease restrictions and legalizes direct commercial flights to the island.
The country saw a 50% increase in American visitors in 2015, according to The Wall Street Journal. More than 3 million tourists visited the island in 2014, according to the Cuban News Agency.
The jump in authorized travel came after Obama announced the U.S. and Cuba were working towards normalized relations. Trips to the island are still illegal unless approved and for reasons like business, cultural exchange or to visit immediate family.
Earlier this month, FORBES found that Zika fears throughout the the Caribbean, South and Central America put an estimated $63.9 billion in tourism at risk.
Travel warnings have been issued in more than 20 countries.
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