Havana, August 20 (Xinhua-RHC) -- The number of foreigners visiting Cuba since the beginning of 2014 reached two million on Tuesday, and the island nation hopes to receive three million tourists before the end of the year, according to a press release from the Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR).

The tally was based on registered arrivals of tourists from Canada, Germany, France, Italy and Spain and reflects Cuba's strong position in international tourism, the release said.

MINTUR added that Cuba's unique offers, its wide cultural and patrimonial legacies as well as safe services are some of the main reasons why tourists choose to visit the Caribbean country.

The Ministry of Tourism also said that Cuba has intensified commercial and publicity campaigns to attract tourists so as to reach the goal of three million tourists a year.

In 2013, Cuba received 2,852,572 foreign arrivals, up 0.5 percent year on year, earning over 1.8 billion U.S. dollars. On Tuesday, Cuba National Bureau of Statistics said the country has earned some 1.77 billion dollars from international tourism in the first half of 2014, up four percent from last year.

Tourism is Cuba's second main source of hard currency, earning the country over 2.6 billion dollars every year.