MIAMI, United States. — Tourism in Cuba had one of its worst years in 2022 and this is demonstrated by the low hotel occupancy reflected by the official statistics themselves.
According to the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), the Caribbean island barely registered a 15.6% hotel occupancy rate, a figure that for the economist Pedro Monreal speaks of the poor economic performance of the sector.
“The official statistics indicate that, with a very low occupancy rate of 15.6% in 2022, the hotel activity in Cuba was a ‘broken business’,” said the expert in his twitter account.
According to Monreal, the hotel occupancy rate in Cuba is one of the indicators that show how far the island is from other reference destinations in the Caribbean region.
“The low hotel occupancy rate in Cuba was much lower than that of beach destinations in Mexico (63.9% in May 2022) and the Dominican Republic, with rates above 70% in Punta Cana and Romana-Bayahibe in 2022”, he maintained.
1/4 The official statistics indicate that, with a very low occupancy rate of 15.6% in 2022, the hotel activity in Cuba was a bankrupt “business” pic.twitter.com/qw29tAUvpg
— Pedro Monreal (@pmmonreal) March 15, 2023
For the economist, the “problem of the very low hotel occupancy rate of 15.6% in Cuba is not limited to being at a disadvantage compared to close competitors, but to the fact that it is lower than the level from which profits are obtained (breakeven point) , which on average is estimated at 52% in the Caribbean”.
The expert also questioned the imbalance between poor hotel occupancy and excessive investment in the sector.
“Faced with a low hotel occupancy rate in Cuba that is not compatible with obtaining benefits, two questions are imposed: a) Where did the resources come from to cover hotel losses?, and b) What is the rationality of persisting in a excessive hotel investment?
Despite the serious crisis that the Caribbean country is going through and the poor results obtained by Tourism, the island’s authorities continue to emphasize hotel investment. Its goal: reach 3.5 million visitors in 2023.
Statistics published on the portal The Cuban Economist and disseminated by the state press indicate that in January of this year the Caribbean country registered 246,000 touristsmore than the 86,424 that entered in the same period of 2022.
It is, however, a still insufficient number with a view to exceeding three million visits, especially considering that tourism on the island is now in the so-called high season.
