Havana, August 7 (RHC) -- The arrival of American visitors to Cuba has increased by 54% from January to July, when compared to the same period last year.

The increase was registered in a study by José Luis Perelló, an economist and professor with the Faculty of Tourism of the University of Havana. According to the document, nearly 90,000 Americans visited Cuba in the first seven months of the year, a number that could rise substantially with the official opening next August 14th of the U.S. embassy in Havana.

The study, published by the magazine Caribbean News, recalls that during the same period last year a little over 57 000 US citizens visited Cuba.

Preliminary calculations by the specialist show that Cuba could register some 3 and a half million foreign visitors by year's end -- of those, some 145,000 Americans.