Tourism revenues in Cuba amounted to more than $2.5 billion in 2011, increasing 12.8 percent over the year before, the National Statistics Bureau reported Friday.

The island country last year earned 284 million dollars more than in 2010, a bureau press release said.

Revenues from restaurants and other gastronomic services in the tourism sector reached $415 million, representing an increase of 6.6 percent, while the national income from hotel accommodations totaled 338 million dollars, rising 15.5 percent.

At the same time, it received more than 2.7 million international visitors, up 7.3 percent, said the bureau.

The largest number of travelers to Cuba last year were from Canada, with more than 1 million, followed by those from Britain, Italy, Spain and Germany.

During the first six months of 2012, 1,626,350 travelers visited Cuba, up 5.8 percent over the same period of last year, said the bureau.

Tourism is Cuba's second largest source of foreign revenue after export of professional services, mainly in the sectors of healthcare, education and sports.

Having launched an international ad campaign to attract more visitors, the Cuban authorities are currently working on a strategy to boost the country's number of hotel rooms through foreign investment.

The government hopes 2012 can see 3 million international travelers visiting Cuba.