Havana, May 26 (RHC) -– Visits by U.S. citizens to Cuba have increased 36 percent since January, amid the thaw in diplomatic relations between the neighboring countries.

The dramatic rise was seen in the number of Americans with no family ties to Cuba who visited between January 1st and May 9th of this year compared to the same period in 2014.

From January to May, 51,458 Americans visited Cuba, compared to 37,459 over that same period last year, according to new statistics provided to The Associated Press by Jose Luis Perello Cabrera, an economist in the University of Havana's Tourism Studies Department.

In addition to the boom in U.S. visitors, Cuba has seen a 14 percent jump in arrivals from around the world between January and early May compared to the same period last year.