The Canadian airline WestJet will resume its direct flights to Cienfuegos starting next December 10, indicated a note published by the portal Cuban Economic Agenda.
This is a movement that strengthens tourism ties between Canada and the Caribbean and expands the offer of winter destinations for travelers, in the midst of a Cuban industry that is experiencing low hours after proving unable to grow in the post-pandemic period.emic and lack the resilience enjoyed by their mclosest competitors in the basin, which do they benefit of the favor of the American market.
The confirmation came from Gihana Galindo Enríquez, director of the Cuban Tourism Office in the Canadian city of Toronto, who highlighted that this decision is part of a broader WestJet strategy to strengthen its connectivity with Caribbean and Latin American destinations.
At the end of October, the direct flights that connectn Mdark with the call Ciudad de los Parques, Holguín, operated jointly by the airline Nordwind and the tour operator Pegas Touristik, according to reported Cubahora.
Winter expansion: More routes and frequencies
The announcement is part of the 2025-2026 winter flight plan presented by WestJet last July, where the company revealed an ambitious deployment of 305 routes to 62 destinations in the region, which represents a 3% increase in operations compared to the previous season.
Among the key connections is the Toronto-Havana route, with two weekly frequencies until April 23, 2026, as well as an increase in flights to Varadero (always in the top ten beaches in the Caribbean and Latin American region)Cancún (Mexico) and Samaná (Dominican Republic).
The inclusion of Cienfuegos, known as the “Pearl of the South” and the only Cuban city founded by French settlers in the 19th century, seeks to diversify the offer beyond the traditional poles such as Varadero, taking advantage of the cultural and natural potential of the central provincesouthern
Tickets corresponding to the 2025-2026 winter program, which includes the restored route to Cienfuegos, a UNESCO heritage city since 2005 for its urban and landscape architectural value, are available for purchase from July 14, 2025, allowing Canadian travelers to plan and book their next vacation in the Caribbean well in advance.
A commitment to the Caribbean in the face of Cuban decline
The reactivation of the route to Cienfuegos contrasts with the reality of Cuban tourism, which has not managed to recover its pre-pandemic levels, whose peak approached 5 million in 2018.
According to official data, during the first half of this year the island It only attracted a total of 981,856 international visitors, which represents 25% less than in the same period of 2024.
According to data published by the National Office of Statistics and Information (Onei), it will be very difficult for the Government to meet its goal of 2.6 million tourists by 2025.
Likewise, official numbers suggest that the country is on track to deteriorate its 2024 tourism record, the worst in 17 years, not counting the years of the covid-19 pandemic.
Factors such as the economic crisis, which has impoverished daily life in the country, the sanctions from the United States that slow down banking dynamism and the flow of tourists, even from third parties, especially Europeans, and the lack of infrastructure and productive chains they have carried the growth of the sector to a quagmire.
In this scenario, WestJet’s bet seems to respond to a specific demand: Canadian travelers—the second largest source market for tourists to Cuba—who are looking to escape the winter.
John Weatherill, executive vice president of the airline, stated that the objective is to establish itself as “the preferred option for vacations in tropical climates.”
The expansion is not reduces to the Cuban Caribbean. The general flight schedule also includes new connections to destinations in Central America, such as Costa Rica and Nicaragua, which opens the range of options for travelers who prefer warm climates during the hard winter months of Canada, whose average temperature at that time is characterized by records below zero in most regions.
Canada, the faithful
Canada has historically been Cuba’s most stable and loyal tourist market in the Americas, providing a continuous flow of visitors and consolidating deep roots since the 1960s. despite pressure from its southern neighbor.
During the 80s and especially in the 90s, Canada established itself as a lifeline for Cuban tourism in the midst of the economic crisis of the Special Period, contributing a significant volume of visitors and supporting the development of hotel infrastructure.
In recent decades, the North American country has maintained its leadership: before the pandemic, nearly one million annual visitors arrived from Canada, representing between 30% and 40% of the total international tourists in Cuba.
Even with the partial reopening of the United States between 2015 and 2016, Americans never exceeded Canadian volume, demonstrating the stability of this market.
ANDn 2025, although arrivals have suffered a decrease (478 thousand between January and July), Canada continues to represent almost half of the international visitors to the island, showing the persistence of its loyalty.
