Havana, September 3 (Xinhua-RHC) -- The Cuban tourism industry continues to grow, as authorities forecast 2015 could be the strongest year in a decade for tourism on the island.

According to statistics published Wednesday by the National Office for Statistics and Information (ONEI), Cuba received almost 2.2 million tourists in the first seven months of this year, a 17-percent rise over the same period in 2014.

While Canada, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Mexico maintained their positions as the main countries to visit Cuba, visitors from Japan, Turkey and the Philippines rose sharply.

Furthermore, many American tourists are seeking to visit the island, since U.S. President Barack Obama lifted some of the restrictions concerning visits to Cuba.