Cuba, unable to recover its pre-pandemic tourism levels

Unlike the rest of the Caribbean, Cuba has not managed to restore the tourism it had before the Covid-19 pandemic. If in 2019 it reached 4.2 million international visitors, it only reached 2.4 million in 2023; in 2024 it fell behind and everything indicates that in 2025 it will regress again. With tourism controlled by state-owned companies linked to the Cuban Army, the reduction of income and foreign currency could be generating a climate of tension among the nomenklatura.

International tourism has boosted the Cuban Economics - it has brought in foreign exchange, generated jobs and contributed to the island's services. The latest data show a clear drop. In addition to the leave, the sudden slowdown of the COVID-19 pandemic and a domestic environment weighed down by infrastructure, connectivity and energy failures have been delaying recovery. The report reviews the trajectory of tourism in Cuba from 2019 to the present, examines the factors that have set the sector's current status and outlines its future prospects.

Pre-pandemic tourism overview (2019).

In 2019 Cuba received 4,275,558 foreign tourists, 9.3 % less than in 2018, according to data from the National Statistics and Information Office (ONEI) collected by the Caribbean Council. That drop interrupted the steady rise that had been seen before the closure of U.S. cruise traffic and the revision of some openness measures towards the island put in place during the Obama Administration.

The second half of the year showed a clear turnaround - monthly numbers for 2019 indicate that in June it was down 19.8% versus the same month last year; in August the drop reached 27%, and in December it stood at 16.8% - test that the slowdown started before the pandemic. That loss of momentum had one main driver: in June 2019 the Trump Administration vetoed Cuba-bound cruises and eliminated the general 'person-to-person' licence , leading to an immediate drop in flights and travelers from the United States.

Although the Canadian and European markets continued to bring visitors (Canadians accounted for more than 26% of revenue in 2019, with 1,119,853 tourists), the sum of the reinstatement of all elements of the U.S. embargo, the skill of other Caribbean destinations and the deterioration of hotels and airports left Cuban tourism in a weak position before the coronavirus shut down the flow of travel.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Cuban tourism sector (2020-2021)

The pandemic arrived in March 2020 and immediately cut the influx of travelers to Cuba. Columbia University, after several surveys, estimated that foreigners setting foot in the country fell from 4.3 million in 2019 to less than 1.1 million in 2020: closed border and total halt in tourism for most of the year. A portion of hotel facilities opened in November 2020, but health regulations and impediments to operation continued to reduce the issue of arrivals.

In 2021 it barely rebounded: ONEI counted 356,470 foreign visitors, a much lower figure even compared to smaller Caribbean islands. The causes were the established requirements, such as swabs, quarantine days and a limited issue of flights, while the few travelers had little money and little desire to move.

To soften the blow and refund confidence, the Ministry of Tourism launched the 'Safer and More Hygienic Tourism' program. Hotels, restaurants and agencies were visited; establishments that complied with the protocols received a seal, even so the dynamics did not accelerate. By the end of 2021, the sector was still working at a fraction of its pre-pandemic pace.

Tourism recovery and restructuring (2022-2023)

Once activities returned to normal, 2022 marked the beginning of the rebound. That year Cuba registered 1,614,087 international visitors, well above 2021, but still far from the pre-pandemic level. The official series itself sample that the recovery was concentrated in the second semester, with the gradual reactivation of routes and poles such as Havana and Varadero. The upturn was accompanied by more overnight stays and hotel utilization, although from a still leave base.

In 2023, the advance was clearer: the annual closing recorded 2,436,980 international visitors, with growth of 51% year-on-year, confirming the take-off of demand, along with a jump in overnight stays from 8.44 million (2022) to 13.73 million (2023). These figures reflect higher average stay and recovery of package tours, although still below 2019. Therefore, the structure continued to depend on Canada as the main market, while Russia reappeared as a relevant issuer in the diversification strategy.

The picture for 2022-2023 is one of partial recovery with market reconfiguration. Cuba managed to expand volumes and hotel nights due to the normalization of transport and the global reopening, but the sector's figures were still far from 2019, affected by the slow normalization of connectivity and other external shocks (sanctions, supply tensions).

current status and trends (2024-2025)

The prospects of a restitution of pre-pandemic levels in order to regain momentum, as was happening in the rest of the Caribbean tourist destinations, were not fulfilled and 2024 ended without reaching the goals set. Reuters estimates that Cuba reached 2.2 million foreign tourists, when the goal was 3.2 million and is still far from the 2019 level. The shortage of electricity, food and transportation, added to the reduction of flights and package quotas allowed, slowed down the arrival of people. During the first four months, 1,024,396 travelers entered the country, 4.1% more than in the same period of the previous year, but after April the flow decreased and did not rebound.

In 2025, official data show fewer arrivals. Up to August, ONEI counted 1,259,972 foreign visitors, 21.6% less than in the same period of the previous year, which suggests that not only will the goal of reaching 2.6 million for the whole year not be achieved, but also that the figures for 2025 will be moderately below those of 2024.

The Government has tried to improve the figures by promoting tourism from Asia: at the FITCuba 2025 fair, it highlighted the interest in the Chinese market (new Air China flight and visa-free travel). However, efforts are proving to be insufficient: the reality of the worst economic crisis the country has experienced since its independence and the continuous power outages suffered by the island, especially since mid-2022, are not the best tourist attractions.

The underlying trends are summary as follows: i) demand reacts easily to power or supply outages, which damages the visitor experience and the destination's reputation; ii) tourism depends on few markets (Canada remains the main one) and diversification is progressing slowly; iii) flights arrive irregularly, without stable frequencies; iv) basic services are repaired and the electricity network is stabilized so that promotion translates into real tourists, but the energy infrastructure sample its deficiencies.