Cuba received between January and November a total of 1,629,787 touristsabout 19% less than at the same stage in 2024, according to data published by the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI).
The entity indicated that 151,895 international visitors arrived on the island in November, one of the worst months since 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the borders to close.
Canada, the community of Cubans abroad and Russia were the main sending markets, although with drops compared to the previous year. Of the top 10 countries, only Argentina and Colombia show a slight increase, according to the ONEI report.
The Cuban Government recognized in the last parliamentary session last week that the tourism sector is going through a “complex situation” and will not meet its forecasts for international visitors.
The Government’s annual objective was to add 2.6 million tourists, but the Cuban Minister of Economy, Joaquín Alonso, estimated that the figure will be around 1.9 million, 73% of the initial forecast.
Tourism remains about 25 percentage points below the government objective for the year
Tourism and economic crisis
The weakness of the Cuban tourism sector, the island’s economic engine for years, has as its main factors the serious economic and energy crisis that the country is suffering – and which has an impact on services and experience -, the cutting of air routes and US sanctions.
Tourism is fundamental to the economic recovery plans of the Cuban Government, due to its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) and the inflow of foreign currency it represents, which is usually among the most important, along with professional services and remittances.
Cuba received 2.2 million international visitors in 2024, a total of 2.4 million in 2023 and 1.6 million in 2022, according to official data.
These data are far from those registered in 2018 (4.6 million) and in 2019 (4.2 million), record figures linked to the “thaw” of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba in those years and the elimination of Washington restrictions on travel to the island.
Currently, the tourism situation in Cuba contrasts with that of similar destinations in the Caribbean region, such as Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) and Cancún (Mexico), which are registering historic highs in visitors after the pandemic.
