Decline tourism erodes one of the main currency sources of the Cuban regime.
Madrid, Spain.- Cuba received 1,259,972 international tourists between January and August of this year, which represents a 21.6% drop compared to the same period of 2024, according to Data from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI).
The decrease confirms the negative trend of the Cuban tourism sector, which is increasingly moved away from the idyllic official goal of 2.6 million international visitors in 2025. With the current figures, it is unlikely that it will even exceed the 2.2 million recorded last year.
The most pronounced descents are concentrated in traditional issuing markets. Canada, the main origin of tourists to the island, sent more than 100,000 visitors less than in 2024. Strong setbacks from Russia (more than 50,000 less), Germany (-41.4%), Spain (-27.7%) and France (-24.7%) are also reported.
Even the flow of Cubans residing abroad, Usually considered a stable segment, he experienced a significant contraction in these months.
The only exception among the top ten emitting countries was Argentina, which registered an increase close to 6%, contrasting with the generalized fall in the rest of the markets.
In addition to the recoil in the arrival of tourists, the sector faces other adverse indicators. Hotel occupation in the first semester of 2025 fell almost seven percentage points compared to the same period of 2024, while air arrivals were reduced by around 20%.
Specialists point out that this contraction responds to structural factors: loss of air connectivity, deterioration of tourist infrastructure, deficiencies in basic services, a growing competence of other Caribbean destinations and the economic and social crisis that the country is going through, marked by blackouts, shortages and insecurity.
Tourism, one of the main sources of currency of the regime – along with the export of professionals and remittances – fails to take off in a context of growing internal uncertainty and international isolation.
