The hotels in Cuba's major beach resort gave shelter to 20,200 foreign tourists, some of whom had been evacuated from other destinations.

According to official statistics, 1,373 vacationers came from Cayo Largo del Sur, where the hurricane was expected to cause serious havoc.

In addition, dozens of vacationers were evacuated from hotels in Ciénaga de Zapata (Zapata Swamp), in the south coast of western Matanzas province.

The number of tourists in Varadero can be considered extraordinary for this time of the year, since the record number of vacationers in the beach resort in one night (24,037) was set on February 10, 2004, at the peak of the high tourist season.

By: Dtcuba