Cuba finally arrived and exceeded the million tourists in 2025. He did it last July, three months after the previous year, when he got it In April.
Until the seventh month of this year the island received 1 123 987 international visitors, 338 922 less than in the same period of 2024. It is a retreat of 23.2 %, According to published data This Monday by the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI).
This figure has practically unfeasible the governmental objective of receiving 2.6 million tourists in 2025 and does not ensure that the 2.2 million 2024 brand is exceeded, the worst in 17 years, not counting the two years most affected by the COVID-19 EFE.
The ONEI indicated that in July 142 131 international travelers arrived on the island. It is a volume higher than that registered in the previous two months, which is usual, but lower than the figures of that same month in the last three years.
By countries, Canada, the United States and Russia continued to be the three main emitting markets by volume so far this year, although with falls with respect to 2025.
Of the first ten issuing countries, only Argentina and Colombia were scheduled as compared to the same period of the previous year. Russia visitors were reduced by 41.8 %, followed by Germany (39.3 %), Spain (28 %), France (25.5 %) and Canada (23.1 %).
Likewise, the number of Cubans residing abroad who travels to the island – which would be the second largest issuer market, folding the third – has fallen into 21.5 %.
2/2 Visitors of the Cuban community registered the minor fall among the 4 main emitters. Visitors from Argentina and Colombia exceeded January-June 2024, but relatively few tourists pic.twitter.com/wly8fgdien
– Pedro Monreal (@pmmonreal) August 18, 2025
The weakness of the Cuban tourism sector, economic engine of the island for years, is associated, among other factors, to the serious economic and energy crisis suffered by the country, the cut of air routes and the US sanctions.
Tourism is essential for the plans of the Cuban government, for its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and by the entry of currencies it represents. It has usually been among the most important economic activities, together with professional services and remittances.
After the impact of pandemic in the sector, 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 numbers were 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 US and Cuba in those years and the elimination of restrictions from Washington to trips to the island.
EFE / ONCUBA
