Cuban tourism in freefall: number of international visitors falls by almost 63%
Cuba From January to July 2026, it received only 419,863 international visitors. That is almost 63% fewer than in the same period last year, and problems with energy, air connectivity and hotel capacity are further hampering the destination's recovery.
Cuban tourism is entering one of the most difficult seasons in recent decades. According to data from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), the number of international visitors in the first seven months reached just 37.21 per cent of last year's level. Cuba thus lost almost 709,000 visitors in a single year.
An even bigger problem is that the Cuban government had planned for 2.2 million visitors in 2026. By the end of July, only about 19% of that target had been achieved.
Canada leads the decline of major emitting markets
The biggest blow comes from the Canadian market, traditionally the most important for Cuban inbound tourism. By the end of July, 127,645 visitors had arrived from Canada, around 351,000 fewer than the previous year.
Following are the USA with 37,351 visitors, Russia with 21,374 and Mexico with 19,828. The number of arrivals of Cubans living abroad, another important segment for local tourism spending, has also decreased.
The problem is no longer just demand
The drop in arrivals is occurring alongside serious problems on the supply side. Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz said in July that, due to fuel shortages and other restrictions, as many as 731 tourist facilities had been closed, while seven international hotel companies have withdrawn from operations on the island.
For the tour operator is changing the way to which Cuba can be sold. The price of the package is no longer the only factor. Flight reliability, hotel availability, energy, transport at the destination and payment infrastructure are becoming part of the risk assessment before contracting capacity.
Havana is trying to open up space for the private sector
The Cuban authorities are now trying to respond by liberalising part of the tourism market. The new measures allow greater scope for private travel agencies and independent guides, as well as simpler business operations for foreign investors.
However, the short-term challenge remains volume. In July, Cuba received only 32,272 international visitors. To achieve the annual plan in the last five months, almost another 1.8 million would need to arrive, making the current pace difficult to reach.
