Cuba’s tourism slump deepens as arrivals fall 20%

Worrying hoteliers

The figures confirm what hoteliers, tour operators and small businesses across the island have been witnessing for months: emptier hotels, fewer flights and weakening demand across most key markets.

Tourism remains one of Cuba’s most strategically important sectors, with roughly 84,000 hotel rooms and the presence of 19 foreign hotel chains, many operating under management or joint-venture agreements. Earlier this year, tourism officials expressed optimism that arrivals would recover during the high season. Instead, the latest numbers underscore a widening gap between official expectations and on-the-ground reality.

The decline has been broad-based. Canada, traditionally Cuba’s largest source market, recorded 559,715 visitors over the ten-month period, down from 695,557 a year earlier. Arrivals from the Cuban diaspora, a crucial segment for both travel and spending, fell to 177,823, compared with 224,266 in 2024. Russian tourism, which had surged in recent years thanks to direct air links and promotional agreements, dropped sharply to 88,879 visitors, down from 141,612. European markets also weakened significantly, with steep declines reported from Germany, Spain and other traditional long-haul sources.

Some South American markets, including Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, and Peru, showed however slight growth, although insufficient to offset the overall decline.

According to economists, the downturn reflects broader economic stress, affecting not only hotels and airlines but also taxi drivers, restaurants, artisans and informal businesses that depend heavily on foreign visitors for income.

Energy problems add to tourism woes

Hurricane Melissa last October, while having a relatively limited impact on the island’s tourism infrastructure, reinforced the perception of risk linked to climate change in Cuba -and generally in the Caribbean.

Compounding the challenge is Cuba’s worsening energy crisis. Frequent and prolonged power outages have become a daily reality in 2025, forcing hotels to rely on generators to maintain basic services such as air conditioning, lighting and water systems.

Fuel shortages have also disrupted transportation, adding costs for tourism operators and undermining the visitor experience. These structural problems, industry analysts say, are increasingly factored into travelers’ decisions before booking trips to the island.

The broader economic outlook remains bleak. The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean projects that Cuba’s gross domestic product will contract by 1.5% in 2025. Only marginal growth is expected in 2026 if energy supply stabilizes and external pressures ease. While the government continues to promote investment incentives and marketing campaigns to revive tourism, the ten-month arrival figures suggest that recovery in tourism will require deeper structural reforms and marketing efforts.